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Cije  MtSLtfi  aria  ^tmvxmion  of  Jesus. 


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of  '^t^n^. 

TEN  LECTURES  FOR  HOLY  WEEK  AND  EASTER. 


BY 

S.  [BARING    GOULD,   M.A., 

AUTHOR    OF    "tHK    BIRTH    OF    JESUS."       "  NAZARKTH    AST)    CAPERNAUM."      "THE 

PASSION  OF  JBSU3."    ''THE  TRIALS   OF  JESUS."     "THE   SEVEN   LAST   WORDS." 

"the  WAV   OK  SORROWS."     ETC. 


^ptD  Hurlt: 

JAMES    POTT    &    CO.,    14    &    16,    ASTOR    PLACE. 

1888. 


Br?09 
B37 


^refaff. 


These  Ten  Lectures  continue  the  Commentary  on  the  Passion 
and  Resurrection  of  Christ,  contained  in  my  volumes 

I.  The  Passion  of  Jesus. 

II.  The  Trials  of  Jesus. 

III.  The  Way  of  Sorrows. 

IV.  The  Seven  Last  Words. 

This  forms  the  fifth  of  the  series.  Should  the  publishers  feel 
justified  in  continuing  it,  the  sixth  will  complete  this  series  with 
the  record  from  the  Appearance  of  Christ  to  the  Ten  on  Easter 
Day  in  the  Evening  to  the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Pentecost. 
I  began  another  series,  of  which  the  first  was  "  The  Birth  of 
Jesus,"  and  the  next  "  Nazareth  and  Capernaum,"  with  the 
intention  of  their  forming  a  Commentary  on  the  Life  of  our  Lord 
to  the  Passion,  but  there  has  been  comparatively  little  demand  for 
these  volumes,  so  this  series  will  not  be  continued. 

Lew  Trenchavd,  N.  Devon, 
Nov.  21,  1887. 


499 


(Contents* 


I. 

( Suitable  for  All  Saints.) 

PAGE 

S.  Matt,  xxvii.  52,  53. 

"The  graves  were  opened;  and  many  bodies  of  the  Saints  which 
slept  arose,  and  came  out  of  the  graves  after  His  Resurrection,  and 
went  into  the  holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many."  t 

II. 

Cfjc  mcnt  'Fell. 

S.  Matt,  xxvii.  51. 

"  Behold,  the  vail  of  the  Temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom."  11 

III. 

Cije  33icrcctJ  §itJe. 
S.  John  xix.  34. 

"One  of  the  soldiers  with  a  spear  pierced  His  side,  and  forthwith 
came  thereout  blood  and  water."  19 

IV. 

Cljc  iScgftnt  from  tl^e  Cro^sf. 

S.  Matt,  xxvii.  57,  58. 

"  When  the  even  was  come,  there  came  a  rich  man  of  Arimathea, 
named  Joseph,  who  also  himself  was  Jesus'  disciple  :  he  went  to  Pilate, 
and  begged  the  body  of  Jesus."  27 


V. 

Ct)e  ([Entombment. 

1  PAGE 

S.  Luke  xxiir.  53.     . 
"  He  laid  it  in  a  sepulchre  that  was  hewn  in  stone,  wherein  never 
man  before  was  laid."  34 

VI. 

Wl)t  (great  ^ahhat\). 

S.  Luke  xxiii.  56. 
' '  They  returned  .     .     .  and  rested  the  Sabbath  Day,  according  to 
the  Commandment."  42 

VIL 

Ttjt  ^piiit^  in  39iis(on. 

I  Peter  hi.  19. 
"  He  went  and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison."  50- 

vni. 
Clje  l^ejJuriection. 

S.  Matt,  xxviii.  2-4. 
"  Behold,  there  was  a  great  earthquake  :  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
descended  from  Heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the 
door,  and  sat  upon  it.  His  countenance  was  like  lightning,  and  his 
raiment  white  as  snow  ;  and  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake, 
and  became  as  dead  men."  58: 

IX. 

Ciie  Appearance  to  JMari)  ilHagtJalene. 

S.  John  xx.   ii. 
*'And  Mary  stood  without  the  sepulchre,  weeping."  67 

X. 

€i)t  OTiai)  to  ffimmaug. 

S.  Mark  xvi.  12. 
"After  that  He  appeared  in  another  form  unto  two  of  them,   as 
they  walked,  and  went  into  the  country."  75. 

appenHtji-.    (3n  tl)e  ^itt  of  tf)e  f^olw  ^epulci)ie» 


€fte  5ieatfi  antr  He^ttrrectton 
of  *^tm^. 


I. 


S.  Matt,  xxvii.  52,  53. 

''  T'A^  graves  wei'e  opened ;  and  many  bodies  of  the  Saints  which  slept 
arose,  and  came  out  of  the  graves  after  His  Resurrection ,  and  went  into 
the  holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many^ 

The  sun  declined  on  that  Good  Friday  when  Christ  hung 
on  the  Cross.  With  a  loud  cry  He  gave  up  the  ghost,  as 
the  priests  standing  before  the  gates  of  Nicanor,  that  led 
into  the  Temple,  blew  a  loud  trumpet-blast  to  announce 
that  the  Paschal  Feast  was  beginning. 

And  as,  at  the  Last  Day,  at  the  setting  of  the  sun  on  the 
earth  for  the  last  time,  the  trumpet  of  the  Archangel  will 
sound,  and  the  graves  will  be  opened,  and  the  dead  arise, 
so  was  it  now  at  the  last  day  of  the  Old  Covenant,  at  the 
close  of  the  first  period  of  the  World's  History. 

Good  Friday  was  the  day  on  which  the  hinge  of  History 
turned  ;  it  was  the  last  day  of  the  Old  History,  and  in  several 
ways  on  it  was  the  final  judgment  scene  rehearsed.   Then  the 

A 


2  5ri)c  Bthtb  antf  ^t^nxttttian  of  ^r^Su^. 

sun  will  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  turned  into  blood,  and 
now  there  is  darkness  over  all  the  earth.  Then  the  sign  of 
the  Son  of  Man  will  appear  in  Heaven,  and  now  it  stands 
against  the  sky,  bearing  on  it  the  body  of  the  Son  of  Man. 
Then  the  veil  of  the  Heavens  will  be  rent  asunder  and 
rolled  up,  and  now  the  symbolical  veil  of  the  Temple  is  torn 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom.  Then  there  will  be  earthquakes, 
and  now  the  rocks  are  rent ;  then  will  be  the  opening  of  all 
graves,  and  now  the  tombs  give  up  their  dead. 

The  incident  of  the  rising  Saints  is  given  only  by  S. 
Matthew,  and  it  is  an  incident  not  often  commented  upon, 
and  when  commented  on  is  treated  as  a  difficult  one,  hard 
to  be  explained.  It  is  an  incident  that  deserves  more  notice 
than  is  usually  accorded  to  it,  for  it  is  one  of  those  few 
incidents  recorded  in  Scripture  which  show  us  something 
of  the  relation  in  which  the  world  of  spirits  stands  to  the 
world  of  the  living. 

It  was  customary  among  the  Romans  for  the  great  families, 
the  patricians,  who  had  the  jus  imagmum,  at  a  funeral  to 
have  a  train  of  masqueraders  attend,  who  wore  wax  masks 
resembling  the  faces  of  the  ancestors  of  the  deceased,  masks 
taken  from  the  gallery  of  ancestral  portrait-busts  and  statues. 
The  meaning  of  this  curious  rite  was  this.  The  mourners 
were  taken  to  represent  the  dead  of  the  patrician's  family, 
who  rose  and  came  forth  from  the  world  of  spirits  to  salute 


Cbe  3^i^tn  ^atntiS. 


and  welcome  and  attend  their  descendant  at  his  decease.  It 
was  the  same  at  the  funeral  of  an  emperor,  only  then  there 
appeared  men  dressed  in  imperial  purple,  and  crowned,  and 
with  masks  to  resemble  the  former  emperors  and  great  men 
of  old  Rome,  come  forth  from  the  shadow  realm  to  welcome 
the  dead  entering  into  their  nether  world.* 

But,  indeed,  the  idea  that  the  dead  appeared  when  death 
approaches  is  a  very  common  one,  and  there  is  hardly  a 
nation  in  which  such  stories  are  not  found  of  ancestral 
spirits  which  appear  as  a  death  token.  And,  I  may  add,  it 
is  in  the  experience  of  many  who  have  had  to  do  with 
death-beds  that  the  dying  do  either  see,  or  believe  they  see, 
relatives  long  dead,  appear  to  them  before  their  eyes  finally 
close,  as  though  they  had  come  to  meet  them  on  their  way, 
and  accompany  them  to  the  far  off  land. 

I  do  not  mean  to  assert  as  a  certain  fact  that  such  appa- 
ritions do  take  place,  but  there  can  be  no  question  whatever 
that  the  dying  do  very  often  believe  they  see  their  lost 
relatives,  and  the  dying  face  suddenly  brightens,  a  smile 
breaks  out  on  the  lips,  and  the  hands  are  stretched  out 
with  an  exclamation  of  recognition,  and  a  name,  or  names, 
uttered  of  one  or  more  long  dead  and  almost  forgotten. 

Now  this  phenomenon,  which  is  incontestible,  this  belief 
which  is  very  widely  spread,  bears  some  relation  to  the  fact 

*  Polybius  vi.  53  ;  Pliny  xxxv.  2. 


1 

of  the  apparitions  on  our  Lord's  decease,  and  I  may  almost 

say  that  this  incident  in  the  Gospel  record  gives  strength 

to  the  belief  that  a  much  closer  relation  subsists  between 

the  seen  and  unseen  worlds  than  is  generally  allowed.     As 

our  Lord  gave  up  the  ghost,  the  graves  were  opened,  and 

the  ancient  patriarchs  appeared. 

At  the  central  point  of  the  World's  History,  the  Lord  of 
both  worlds,  after  having  wrought  out  the  salvation  of  men, 
descends  into  the  realm  of  spirits.  According  to  the 
genealogy  given  by  S.  Luke,  there  were  seventy-seven 
generations  of  men  to  Christ ;  seventy-seven  generations 
which  had  sinned  against  God.  And  now  Ke,  Who, 
by  taking  our  human  nature  on  Him,  has  become  our 
brother,  brings  forgiveness  to  the  seventy-seven  generations, 
prisoners  of  hope,  waiting  till,  by  the  blood  of  the  Cove- 
nant, they  should  obtain  release. 

We  know  how  the  dead  in  faith  looked  forward  to  this 
day  with  longing.  "Your  father  Abraham,"  said  Christ, 
**  rejoiced  to  see  My  day;  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad" 
(S.  John  viii.  6) ;  and  on  Tabor,  Moses  and  Elias  appeared 
speaking  with  Him  concerning  "  His  decease,  which  He 
should  accomplish  in  Jerusalem."  (S.  Luke  ix.  31.)  Indeed, 
aged  Simeon  may  be  taken  as  the  spokesman  of  all  the 
faithful,  living  and  dead,  when  he  uttered  his  song  of  praise 
on  receiving  the  Child  Jesus  in  his  arms  in  the  Temple. 


Ct)^  ^i^tn  ^amti^. 


We  are  not  told  that  the  bodies  of  the  Saints  rose  till 
after  the  Resurrection,  when  Christ  being  raised  became 
the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept,  but  the  graves  were  opened 
at  His  death,  and  the  spirits,  doubtless,  were  then  seen 
by  Christ's  closing  eyes,  gathered  on  Calvary  to  receive 
Him,  and  when  He  rose  they  attended  Him  from  the 
place  of  Hades  again,  this  time  clothed  in  their  restored 
bodies. 

Before  the  Reformation  the  Doctrine  of  the  Communion 
of  Saints  had  been  strained  to  sanction  practices  which  were 
inconsistent  with  pure  Christianity.  The  Saints  were  thrust 
into  undue  prominence  to  the  obscuration  of  Christ ;  but 
we  have  suffered  ever  since  the  Reformation  from  the  re- 
action, and  have  come  to  give  no  thought  at  all  to  the  dead 
in  Christ,  and  to  treat  the  article  of  the  Communion  of 
Saints  as  if  it  had  no  meaning,  was  of  no  practical  im- 
portance, and  did  not  find  a  place  in  the  Apostles'  Creed. 
Yet  this  article  would  not  be  there  unless  it  were  of  vital 
importance,  and  we  may  well  ask  ourselves  whether  the 
neglect  of  this  article  is  not  a  serious  sin  of  defect  in  our 
religion,  just  as  the  exaggeration  of  this  doctrine  was  a  sin 
of  excess  and  superstition.  In  our  Creed  we  profess  our 
belief  in  one  Holy  Catholic  Church,  the  Communion  of 
Saints ;  it  is  an  article  which  is  double,  and  yet  one.  There 
is  but  one  Catholic  Church,  as  there  is  but  one  Lord,  one 


6  Ct^  Beats  aulf  Ee^urrcctton  af  ge^ujs?. 

1 

faith,  one  baptism,  but  in  this  one  Church  there  are  two 
parts,  the  Church  of  the  hving  and  the  Church  of  the 
dead ;  as  surely  as  we  who  are  baptized  and  keep  the  faith 
belong  to  the  Catholic  Church,  so  surely  do  those  who  have 
kept  the  faith  and  have  entered  into  their  rest  belong  to  the 
Catholic  Church.  As  we  are  brethren  one  of  another,  who 
are  alive,  so  do  they  who  are  gone  belong  to  us,  and  we 
to  them  ;  we  are  all  one  body  in  Christ.  And  as  we  who  are 
ahve  have  duties  to  discharge  to  one  another,  and  responsi- 
bilities one  to  another,  so  is  it  mth  the  dead  in  Christ,  they 
have  their  offices  of  love  and  brotherhood  to  discharge 
towards  us,  and  we  in  like  manner  towards  them. 

In  the  Cathedral  of  Strassburg  all  the  clerestory  windows 
are  filled  with  figures  of  Saints  and  Angels  in  glory.  The 
lower  aisle  windows  represent  the  acts  and  miracles  of  our 
Lord  and  the  World's  History.  Beneath  the  floor  lie  the 
dead,  and  the  idea  contained  in  this  arrangement  is  the 
unity  of  the  Church.  Aloft  are  the  glorified  hierarchy  of 
Angels  and  Saints  and  just  men  made  perfect,  in  the  midst 
are  we,  the  living,  and  beneath  are  those  who  rest,  and  have 
not  attained  unto  the  fulness  of  perfection.  Above  the 
Church  triumphant,  in  the  midst  the  Church  militant, 
beneath  the  Church  expectant. 

The  whole  of  the  Christian  life  is  one  of  growth,  and  we 
have  no  reason  whatever  to  suppose  that  we  come  to  a 


E'bt  ^i^m  ^Kiixt^. 


standstill  in  the  spiritual  life  at  death,  but  rather  that  we 
pass  from  one  stage  of  development  to  another.  We  have  a 
thousand  analogies  in  nature,  and  we  may  well  expect  that 
eternity  will  be  a  succession  of  ages  of  infinite  progress,  of 
growth  into  the  likeness  of  Christ,  of  deepening  of  the  love 
of  God,  of  increase  of  spiritual  discernment,  of  widening  of 
knowledge. 

Can  we  suppose  that  when  those  who  have  loved  us  on 
earth  pass  into  the  unseen  world  they  have  ceased  to 
interest  themselves  in  us  ?  S.  Paul  teaches  us  the  contrary, 
when  he  speaks  of  us  as  running  in  a  race  with  multitudes 
looking  on,  no  longer  now  in  the  arena,  but  on  the  several 
ranges  of  Heaven,  some  higher,  some  lower,  all  with  eyes 
fixed  on  us,  all  eager  for  our  success,  and  uttering  their 
acclamations  of  encouragement. 

Is  it  conceivable  that  the  mother  who  dies  has  not  a  word 
of  prayer  for  her  child  on  earth,  battling  its  orphaned  way 
through  temptations  ?  Is  it  not  probable  that  every  human 
affection  is  by  death  purified  of  all  selfishness,  but  does  not 
cease,  nay  rather,  is  intensified  and  spiritualized.  And  if 
spiritualized  and  intensified,  must  it  not  break  forth  into 
prayer?  Is  it  not  simply  inconceivable,  is  it  not  only  con- 
ceivable as  a  contradiction  to  the  whole  tenor  of  Christ- 
ianity, that  human  love  should  live  on  and  be  denied 
expression?     Would  it  not  be  intense  agony  to  one   who 


1— 

has  passed  into  the  presence  of  God  to  be  refused  per- 
mission there  to  continue  that  intercession  for  the  dear  ones 
on  earth  which  was  allowed  and  even  commanded  to  be 
made  when  in  the  body  ? 

And,  again,  have  we  no  duties  to  perform  towards  the 
dead  in  Christ  ?  Is  that  article  in  the  Creed  one — the  only 
one  that  is  void  of  practical  force,  which  is  not  to  be  turned 
into  a  source  of  action  ? 

If  the  condition  of  the  spiritual  life  be  one  of  progress,  of 
infinite  progress,  then  we  may  help  by  our  prayers  those 
who  have  passed  into  the  second  stage  of  development, 
that  their  sins  may  be  forgiven,  and  that  their  growth  in 
light  and  perfection  may  be  continued. 

Is  there,  we  ask,  some  efficacious  means  of  entering  into 
close  communion  with  the  dead  in  Christ  ?  To  this  ques- 
tion we  can  answer  with  the  unanimous  voice  of  early 
Christianity — that  in  the  Holy  Communion  that  bond  is 
drawn  in  the  closest  and  tenderest  manner.  When  S.  Ignatius 
was  martyred,  about  a.d.  io8,  the  eye  witnesses  of  his  death 
wrote  in  their  circular  letter  to  the  Church,  "We  note  the 
day  and  hour  (of  his  death)  that  we  may  assemble  at  the 
time  of  his  martyrdom,  and  give  token  of  our  communion 
with  this  noble  confessor  and  witness  of  Christ."  That  is 
to  say,  they  assembled  for  the  liturgy ;  and  this  we  know 
was  the  universal  custom  of  the  early  Church,  the  tombs  of 


Cbe  ^i^m  ^aintjS. 


the  martyrs  being  used  as  the  altars  at  which  the  Eucharist 
was  celebrated. 

In  the  Vatican  is  perhaps  the  most  glorious  picture  of  all 
that  Raphael  ever  painted,  the  so-called  Disputa.  It  repre- 
sents Christ  enthroned  in  Heaven  holding  up  His  hands 
and  shewing  His  wounds,  with  the  Saints  seated  on  His 
right  and  left,  and  the  firmament  thrilling  with  light,  and 
angelic  forms  half  seen  among  the  rays  of  supernal  light. 
Below  is  the  living  Church  made  up  of  kings  and  princes, 
bishops,  doctors,  warriors,  holy  men  and  women  of  every 
age  and  degree,  on  the  steps  leading  to  an  altar ;  and  on 
this  altar,  as  the  central  point,  the  link  binding  Heaven 
and  earth  in  one,  is  the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  the 
Eucharist. 

That,  indeed,  which  is  the  central  act  of  Christian  worship, 
the  one  great  sun  of  the  spiritual  system  of  the  Church,  that 
is  the  bond  between  Heaven  and  earth,  the  link  between 
the  visible  and  the  invisible,  the  means  whereby  we,  being 
united  to  Christ,  are  united  in  and  through  Him  with 
the  Saints  and  faithful  departed. 

In  many  of  the  old  heathen  faiths  it  was  held  that  there 
were  times  of  the  year,  as  the  solstices  and  equinoxes,  when 
at  night  the  doors  of  the  unseen  world  were  thrown  open,  and 
the  dead  appeared  and  rushed  with  the  wind,  wailing  over 
the  face  of  the  earth ;  and  many  a  fable  was  told  of  how 


I 
men  out  at  night  on  such  occasions  had  seen  the  spirits 

sweep  by  on  the  wings  of  the  storm. 

On  All  Saints  and  All  Souls  we  may  look  up  and  see 
the  dead,  not  as  the  heathen  thought,  in  wild  unrest,  but 
waiting  for  the  consummation  of  all  things,  one  with  us  in 
the  object  of  our  worship,  one  with  us  in  common  sub- 
jection to  the  one  King,  one  with  us  in  the  same  great 
family,  one  in  the  same  hope,  the  resurrection  and  restor- 
ation of  all  things,  one  in  the  same  mysterious  spiritual  life, 
which  is  ever  striving  after  perfection,  and  is  in  itself  capable 
of  infinite  perfectibility. 


11. 


S.  Matt,  xxvii.  51. 

**  Behold,  the  vail  of  the  Temple  was  7'ent  in  twain  f'om  the  top  to  the 
bottom  y 

The  work  of  redemption  was  accomplished ;  with  the 
exceeding  bitter  cry,  the  soul  of  the  Saviour  left  His  body, 
and  at  the  parting,  the  rending  of  soul  from  body,  the  veil 
in  the  Temple  was  sharply  torn  from  top  to  bottom.  From 
henceforth  the  way  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  is  open  to  all. 
God  is  no  more  veiled  in  the  Temple  and  rites  of  the  Jews ; 
He  reveals  Himself  to  all  mankind. 

Every  year  once,  on  the  Great  Day  of  Atonement,  the 
High  Priest  was  wont  to  pass  behind  the  veil  into  the  Holy 
of  Holies,  bearing  the  blood  of  the  slain  ram.  And  now 
the  true  Sacrifice  has  been  offered,  of  which  this  was  but  a 
shadow  and  figure  ;  and  with  the  rent  veil  we  are  shewn 
that  the  time  of  figure  and  shadow  is  over,  for  the  reality 
has  come.  Hitherto  only  one,  the  High  Priest,  might  enter 
with  the  atoning  blood,  but  now  the  way  is  open  to  all. 

"  Having,  brethren,  boldness,"  writes  the  author  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the 


1 

Blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living  way,  which  He  hath 
consecrated  for  us,  that  is  to  say,  His  flesh,  and  having  an 
High  Priest  over  the  House  of  God,  let  us  draw  near  with 
a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith." 

The  veil  of  the  Temple  which  was  rent  was  that  which 
hung  between  the  Holy  of  Holies  and  the  Holy  Place,  and 
behind  it  was  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  in  the  early  Temple, 
but  that  old  Ark  was  no  longer  in  the  Temple  after  the 
return  from  captivity. 

In  the  Tabernacle  there  had  been  one  veil,  and  so  also 
in  the  Temple,  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  but 
when  the  Temple  was  rebuilt  by  Ezra  after  the  pattern  of 
that  which  had  been  destroyed,  some  difficulty  arose  as  to 
the  position  of  the  veil — whether  it  hung  within  the  golden 
pillars  that  sustained  the  roof,  or  without  them,  that  is  to 
say,  whether  the  pillars  were  to  be  included  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  or  in  the  outer  place.  To  get  over  this  difficulty, 
a  double  veil,  or  rather  two  veils,  were  used,  one  outside 
the  pillars  towards  what  we  may  call  the  Nave,  and  one 
within,  towards  the  Chancel.* 

When  in  the  Gospel  we  are  told  that  the  veil  was  rent, 
almost  certainly  both  veils  were  torn,  and  fell  apart,  exposing 
the  Holy  of  Holies,  but  in  the  Gospel  only  veil,  in  the 
singular,  is  used,  because  the  double  curtain  was  taken  to 

*  Bab  loma,  fol.  51,  2,    Maimon  in  Beth  habbechira,  c.  iv. 


Cl)e  3aent  Wtil.  13 


represent  the  single  veil  ordered  by  God  to  divide  the  Holy 
of  Holies  from  the  outer  Holy  Place.  The  veil  was  of  the 
utmost  magnificence,  woven  of  purple,  and  red,  and  blue, 
and  white,  and  with  the  figures  of  the  Cherubim  on  it,  and 
starred  with  gold  thread  interwoven  with  the  colours. 

Outside  the  veil  was  the  perpetual  lamp  that  was  on  no 
account  allowed  to  go  out.  We  learn  from  Jewish  sources 
that  forty  years  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  suddenly 
one  day  the  lamp  went  out,  and  never  again  would  burn 
regularly.  When  it  was  re-lighted  so  as  to  fill  the  Temple 
with  light  at  night,  it  went  out  of  itself  before  daybreak. 

We  are  told  of  other  signs  that  took  place  at  the  same 
time.  The  great  stone  threshold  of  the  Temple  was  snapped 
asunder  by  the  earthquake  which  rent  the  rocks,  and  opened 
the  graves.*  And  the  doors  of  the  Temple  swung  open  of 
their  own  accord. 

Another  token  of  Divine  wrath  is  also  recorded  by  the 
Jews  as  having  taken  place  at  the  same  time.  They  relate 
that  on  the  Great  Day  of  Atonement,  when  a  scarlet  cord, 
which  was  bound  round  the  horns  of  the  scapegoat,  and 
which  attached  it  to  the  Temple  gates,  it  was  wont,  up 
to  this  time,  to  lose  its  blood-red  colour,  and  turn  white, 
when  the  High  Priest  laid  on  the  goat's  head  the  sins  of 
the  people.     This  was  regarded  as  a  pledge  that  the  trans- 

*  In  the  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews,  as  quoted  by  S.  Jerome. 


14  Uri^t  IBcatlj  antf  ^t^mxtctioxx  at  3tin^* 

gressions  of  the  House  of  Israel  were  remitted  every  year. 
But  on  this  year,  for  the  first  time,  the  bloodstain  remained 
and  was  not  miraculously  bleached.  In  vain  did  the  High 
Priest  recite  over  the  goat  the  sins  of  the  people,  and 
plead  with  Jehovah  for  pardon  ;  thenceforth  the  outer 
token  that  God  heard  the  prayer  and  granted  absolution 
ceased  to  be  given.  Wonderful  does  this  seem  to  us — this 
recorded  by  the  Jews  themselves — and  to  remember  how 
they  had  called  down  the  blood  of  Christ  on  their  own 
heads  and  on  those  of  their  children.  Moreover,  hitherto 
the  lot  had  always  fallen  on  the  left-hand  goat,  but  from 
this  time  on  to  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  it  fell  on  the 
goat  on  the  right  hand.  * 

In  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  in  the  chapel  of 
Golgotha,  is  shown  a  rent  in  the  limestone  rock  supposed 
to  have  been  made  by  the  earthquake  that  took  place  at 
the  giving  up  of  the  ghost  by  Christ.  The  crack  in  the 
rock  is  now  closed  with  a  grating,  and  is  choked  up  to 
about  a  foot  ;  but  we  know  from  early  accounts  that 
formerly  it  was  a  deep  cleft — so  deep  that  popular  fancy 
supposed  it  went  down  to  the  centre  of  the  earth.  Accu- 
mulations of  rubbish  have  filled  it  since  then,  and  now  all 
that  shews  is  the  mouth  of  the  fissure,  apparently  made  by 
an  earthquake.  Such  cracks  in  the  rock  are  not  infrequent, 
•  loma,  fol.  39,  2  ;  and  fol.  43,  3, 


C!)e  Mrnt  Wtil.  16 


on  occasions  of  a  convulsion  of  the  earth.  From  Zechariah 
(xiv.  4)  we  hear  of  one  occurring  at  Jerusalem,  when  the 
Mount  of  Olives  was  split ;  and  Josephus  records  one 
which  took  place  at  Jerusalem,  when  half  of  the  mountain 
on  the  east  side  of  the  valley  of  Kidron  fell,  and  masses  of 
the  rock  were  hurled  half-way  up  the  side  of  the  opposite 
slope.  On  this  occasion  the  roads  and  the  royal  gardens 
were  buried.  In  1783  an  earthquake  in  Calabria  rent  the 
earth,  and  formed  a  chasm  at  Oppido  five  hundred  feet  long, 
and  to  a  depth  of  over  200  feet.  Whether  the  split  in  the 
rock  in  the  church  over  Golgotha  be  one  made  at  the  time 
of  Christ's  death  or  by  the  earthquake  at  the  Resurrection, 
or  on  any  other  occasion,  cannot  be  said  for  certain  ;  but 
this  is  determined,  that  on  the  rocky  height  which  tradi- 
tion has  unswervingly  identified  with  Calvary  the  rock  is 
rent  asunder  by  seismic  force,  and  that  the  chasm  in  the 
Middle  Ages  was  so  profound  that  it  was  supposed  to  go 
down  to  the  centre  of  the  world.  In  all  probability,  if 
the  site  be  accepted  as  the  true  scene  of  Christ's  death, 
then  we  may  well  suppose  that  when  He  died,  uttering  a 
loud  cry,  the  rock  on  which  the  Cross  was  planted  was  cleft 
asunder ;  for  the  Centurion  and  those  who  stood  by  saw 
the  wonder  of  the  earthquake,  and  were  themselves  pro- 
foundly shaken  by  it  in  their  consciences. 

**  Now  when    the  Centurion,  and   they  that  were   with 


16  CSC  SBratl)  mxts  ^t^mxtttiaix  nf  S^5?ui^. 

him,  watching  Jesus,  saw  the  earthquake,  and  those  things 
that  were  done,  they  feared  greatly,  saying,  Truly  this  was 
the  Son  of  God."     (S.  Matt,  xxvii.  54.) 

Of  the  signs,  only  the  darkness,  and  the  earthquake,  and 
the  opening  of  the  graves,  were  visible  by  those  on  Calvary. 
To  the  present  day,  in  a  chapel  at  the  foot  of  the  rock,  are 
the  remains  of  old  Jewish  graves  cut  in  the  rock.  These 
would  be  closed  with  stone  slabs  revolving  in  grooves. 
When  the  earth  shook,  these  slabs  rolled  back,  or  were 
split  and  fell  outward.  We  must  imagine  the  Centurion 
on  his  horse,  the  same  who  had  led  the  escort  to  Calvary, 
and  whose  duty  it  was  to  remain  to  the  end.  He  had 
heard  the  mocking  cry  of  the  Jews,  "  If  Thou  be  the  Son 
of  God,  come  down  from  the  Cross."  He  was  a  man  with 
some  feeling  in  him  for  the  Victim,  for  he  had  arrested  the 
procession  to  Calvary  and  relieved  Christ  of  the  burden 
of  the  Cross  to  lay  it  on  the  shoulders  of  Simon  of  Cyrene. 
He  had  been  awed  by  the  stealing  on  of  the  darkness,  and 
then,  as  the  darkness  cleared  away,  he  heard  the  loud  cry 
of  Christ,  and  saw  His  head  fall  on  His  breast  in  death. 
Then  ensued  the  rumble  of  an  earthquake  and  the  sway  of 
the  ground  when  the  three  crosses  reeled  against  the  sky, 
like  masts  of  a  ship  in  a  storm,  the  rock  of  Calvary  snapped 
with  an  explosion,  and  was  rent  to  an  unknown  depth  ;  and 
at  the  same  time  the  sepulchres  shook,  and  there  were  many 


C^e  Saent  WtiX.  17 


of  them  opened,  and  exposed  the  dead  which  lay  within. 

**  If  Thou  be  the  Son  of  God,"  the  Jews  had  shouted 
under  the  Cross,  and  the  Centurion,  disturbed  in  mind, 
said  to  himself,  "  Truly — this  was  the  Son  of  God." 

Seven  witnesses  were  borne  to  Christ  outside  the  circle 
of  His  disciples  and  Apostles. 

The  possessed  man  in  the  synagogue  of  Capernaum  had 
proclaimed  Him  at  the  opening  of  His  ministry.  Again, 
He  had  been  proclaimed  by  the  man  with  the  devils  in  the 
country  of  the  Gadarenes.  At  the  Feast  of  the  Tabernacles 
the  multitude  had  cried  out,  "  Of  a  truth,  this  is  the  Pro- 
phet ; "  but  others  said,  "  This  is  the  Christ."  (S.  John 
vii.  40,  41.)  Claudia  Procula,  the  wife  of  Pilate,  had 
testified,  so  even  had  Pilate  himself,  to  His  righteousness. 
The  penitent  thief  had  acknowledged  Him,  and  now,  after 
His  death,  the  Centurion  professes  his  conviction.* 

According  to  S.  Luke,  the  Centurion  said,  "Certainly 
this  was  a  righteous  man."  If  he  declared  that  Christ  was 
the  Son  of  God,  he  did  not  in  those  words  express  what  we 
mean  by  them,  for  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans  their 

*  As  there  are  to  be  seven  trumpets  and  seven  vials  as  signs  before  the 
end  of  all  things,  so  were  there  seven  signs  attending  the  death  of  Christ : 
the  earthquake,  the  opening  of  the  graves,  the  rending  of  the  veil,  the 
breaking  of  the  threshold  of  the  Temple,  the  extinction  of  the  perpetual 
lamp,  the  darkness,  and  the  cessation  of  the  bleaching  of  the  scarlet  cord 
that  bound  the  scapegoat. 


r 

gods  were  supposed  to  have  often  appeared*  on  earth,  and 
even  to  have  left  offspring  on  earth.  Certain  heroes,  and 
some  noble  families,  claimed  to  be  descended  from  the 
gods.  The  Centurion  went  as  far  as  his  light  allowed.  He 
acknowledged  that  Christ  suffered  without  being  guilty,  and 
that  there  was  divinity  in  Him. 

The  rending  of  the  rocks  was  symbolical  of  one  fruit  of 
the  Cross  of  Christ.  That  has  ever  been  potent  to  shake 
and  rend  the  hardest  hearts  ;  hearts  that  have  been  stubborn, 
and  have  refused  to  receive  Him,  have  been  broken  by 
Christ's  cry  and  pierced  by  His  Cross.  And  the  opening 
of  the  graves  is  also  figurative,  for  hearts  have  been  opened, 
and  all  the  dead  and  corrupt  imaginings,  thoughts,  passions 
that  have  been  sealed  up  therein  have  been  revealed,  and 
have  poured  forth  their  evil  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross. 

And  as  the  bodies  of  the  Saints  which  slept  arose,  so  the 
old  spiritual  life,  the  old  graces,  which  in  the  sinner  have 
died  and  gone  into  the  dust,  at  the  shaking  of  the  earth  by 
the  arousing  cry  of  Christ,  have  revived  and  come  forth  to 
new  life.  To  the  broken  and  contrite  heart,  opening  itself 
in  confession  to  God,  and  waking  to  a  new  spiritual  life, 
the  veil  is  rent  asunder,  that  hides  God  from  man,  and 
access  is  accorded  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  through — as  the 
Apostle  says — a  new  and  living  way,  even  His  flesh,  Who 
hung  for  us  on  the  tree  of  shame. 


III. 


S.  John  xix.  34. 

"  One  of  the  soldiers  with  a  spear  pierced  His  side,  and  forthwith  came 
thereout  blood  and  watery 

We  are  told  by  S.  John  that  "  the  Jews,  because  it  was  the 
preparation,  that  the  bodies  should  not  remain  upon  the 
cross  on  the  Sabbath  Day  (for  that  Sabbath  Day  was  an 
high  day),  besought  Pilate  that  their  legs  might  be  broken, 
and  that  they  might  be  taken  away." 

The  next  day  was  the  Passover,  and  the  sun  was  about 
to  set,  so  that  the  festival  was  soon  to  begin.  According  to 
Roman  custom  criminals  who  had  been  crucified  were  left 
to  linger  on  the  cross  sometimes  for  days.  The  Church 
historian  Eusebius  tells  us  of  martyrs  in  Egypt  who  remained 
on  their  crosses  till  they  died  of  starvation.  But  occasion- 
ally, rarely  indeed,  the  Romans  lit  fires  under  the  crosses  to 
accelerate  the  death  of  those  who  hung  on  them.*  Among 
the  Jews,  however,  this  was  not  lawful.  Even  at  ordinary 
times,  a  criminal  might  not  remain  suspended  after  night- 
fall.    Moses  had  ordered  (Deut.  xxi.  22-3)  "  If  a  man  have 

*  Cicero,  ad  Quint,  frat.  i.  2,  2. 


—  ^ 

committed  a  sin  worthy  of  death,  and  he  be  to  be  put  to 
death,  and  thou  hang  him  on  a  tree  :  his  body  shall  not 
remain  all  night  upon  the  tree,  but  thou  shalt  in  any  wise 
bury  him  that  day." 

Accordingly,  when  Joshua  hanged  the  king  of  Ai,  it  was 
only  till  eventide ;  "and  as  soon  as  the  sun  was  set,  Joshua 
commanded  that  they  should  take  the  carcase  down  from 
the  tree."  (Josh.  viii.  29.)  And  again,  when  Joshua  took 
the  seven  kings  in  the  battle  of  Gibeon,  "  he  hanged  them 
on  five  trees ;  and  they  were  hanging  upon  the  trees  until 
the  evening.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  time  of  the  going 
down  of  the  sun,  that  Joshua  commanded,  and  they  took 
them  down  off  the  trees,  and  cast  them  into  the  cave 
wherein  they  had  been  hid."     (Josh.  x.  27.) 

The  reason  given  by  Moses  for  this  order  was  that  if  a 
victim  were  thus  left  hanging  it  would  be  regarded  as  a 
defilement  of  the  land.  The  order  was  given  out  of  mercy. 
A  criminal  expiated  his  offence  by  his  death.  If  his  suffer- 
ings were  protracted  this  was  unnecessary  barbarism. 
Especially  monstrous  would  it  be  that  whilst  men  slept 
peacefully  in  their  beds,  a  poor  wretch  should  be  writhing 
through  the  hours  of  darkness  shrieking  curses,  and  crying 
with  pain. 

The  Passover  was  drawing  on,  every  moment  saw  the 
shadows  lengthened  and  the  sun  nearing  the  Western  Sea. 


^f^t  \Bitxtt\S  ^iiSt.  21 


The  Jews,  not  out  of  compassion,  but  out  of  alarm  lest 
defilement  should  fall  on  their  land  were  the  crucified  to 
remain  hanging  all  that  moonlit  night,  besought  Pilate  that 
their  bones  might  be  broken.  That  morning  they  would 
not  enter  the  Judgment  Hall  for  fear  of  pollution,  and  now 
they  seek  to  expedite  the  death  of  the  victims  for  the  same 
reason. 

Among  the  Romans  the  breaking  of  the  limbs  was  one 
form  of  execution.  Augustus  ordered  his  privy  secretary, 
Thallus,  to  be  thus  put  to  death,  because  he  had  divulged 
the  contents  of  a  despatch.  Indeed  the  breaking  of  the 
limbs  on  a  wheel  was  a  common  form  of  execution  in 
Europe  till  the  beginning  of  this  century.  Sentence  was 
given  for  the  breaking  from  below  upwards,  or  from  above 
downwards,  according  to  the  guilt  of  the  criminal.  If  from 
below,  the  executioner  with  an  iron  bar  broke  first  the 
ankles,  then  the  knees,  then  the  wrists,  the  elbows,  and  so 
on  to  vital  parts  ;  but  if  the  sentence  was  from  above  down- 
wards, then  the  first  stroke  fell  across  the  breast,  and  at 
once  destroyed  life. 

Such  as  were  crucified  could  find  release  by  death 
only.  Even  if  taken  down  from  the  cross,  and  cared 
for,  the  unfortunate  man  could  hardly  recover.  After  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Josephus  saw  among  the  Jews 
who  were  crucified  on  the  road  to  Tekoa  three  of  his  friends. 


22  C!)^  J3eat5  an^  3Re^urrecttaii  of  ^t^n^. 

1 

He  at  once  went  to  Titus,  and  implored  him'  to  spare  their 
lives.  Titus  consented  that  they  should  be  taken  down 
from  their  crosses,  but  though  they  were  shown  the  greatest 
care,  two  of  them  died  the  same  night,  and  only  one  re- 
covered. * 

"Then  came  the  soldiers,  and  brake  the  legs  of  the  first, 
and  of  the  other  which  was  crucified  with  Him.  But  when 
they  came  to  Jesus,  and  saw  that  He  was  dead  already,  they 
brake  not  His  legs." 

Death  on  the  cross  was  attended  with  awful  convulsions. 
The  strain  on  the  nails  produced  cramp^  and  then  convul- 
sions, as  in  lock-jaw.  It  was,  therefore,  marvellous  to  the 
soldiers  to  see  the  body  of  Jesus  resting  peacefully  already, 
without  any  movement  in  it,  whereas  those  of  the  thieves 
twitched,  and  were  contorted. 

"  One  of  the  soldiers  with  a  spear  pierced  His  side,  and 
forthwith  came  thereout  blood  and  water.  And  he  that  saw 
it  bare  record,  and  his  record  is  true :  and  he  knoweth  that 
he  saith  true,  that  ye  might  believe.  For  these  things  were 
done  that  the  Scripture  should  be  fulfilled,  A  bone  of  Him 
shall  not  be  broken.  And  again,  another  Scripture  saith, 
They  shall  look  on  Him  Whom  they  pierced." 

At  the  very  hour  that  the  soldiers  were  breaking  the  legs 
of  the  malefactors,  and  passing  by  Jesus,  Who  was  sus- 
*Vita.  75. 


TOc  Pi>r«if  ^tXfe*  23 


pended  between  them,  the  priests  in  the  Temple  were  pre- 
paring the  lamb  for  the  daily  offering,  and  carefully  avoiding 
the  breaking  of  a  single  bone.  The  law  then  in  force  among 
the  Jews  was  "  Whosoever  shall  break  a  bone  of  the  pure 
paschal  lamb  shall  incur  a  penalty  of  forty  stripes."  * 

Not  only  so,  but  in  the  offering  of  the  sacrificial  lamb  in 
the  Temple,  the  priest  was  required  "  to  pierce  the  heart 
(of  the  lamb),  and  make  its  blood  flow  forth."  f 

So  was  the  Lord,  the  true  Lamb,  fulfilling  in  small  par- 
ticulars the  types  in  the  Temple  sacrifice.  The  Rabbis 
indeed  knew  and  applied  those  words  of  Zechariah  to  the 
Messiah,  "  They  shall  look  on  Him  Whom  they  pierced ; " 
and  yet  such  blindness  has  fallen  upon  them  that  they 
fulfil  the  prophecies,  and  accomplish  the  types  of  which 
their  sacrifices  were  foreshadows,  and  refuse  to  see  the 
accompHshment  taking  place  before  their  eyes.  One  of 
their  commentators  on  the  words  of  the  Prophet  said, 
"  This  is  spoken  of  Jehovah,  Whom  they  will  pierce,  and 
Jehovah  says  it."  + 

As  on  that  night  the  destroying  angel  had  passed  over  the 
houses  where  was  the  sign  of  blood,  and  the  paschal  lamb 
was  slain,  but  smote  elsewhere,  so  now  do  these  execu- 
tioners pass  over  the  true  Lamb  of  God,  and  smite  only 
those  others  crucified  with  Him. 

*  Pesakim  vii.   ii.  +Tamid  iv.  2.  J  Succa  f.  52,  i. 


24  €it  JBeatb  nixti  dSie^mxtttian  of  SejSujJ, 

1 
But   one    soldier  with   a  spear  pierced  H.is  side.    The 

spear    entered    on   the    right    side    under   the    ribs,   and 

in  the  thrust  the   head   perforated  the   heart,   and   as  he 

withdrew  the  spear,  there  issued  after  it  a  stream  of  blood 

and  water. 

The  Old  Testament  was  a  covenant  in  blood,  the  New  in 
water.  Admission  into  the  Old  was  by  the  shedding  of 
blood  in  circumcision  ;  admission  into  the  New  is  by  the 
sprinkling  of  water.  As  from  our  Lord's  side  both  flowed, 
it  shewed  Him  as  the  source  of  both  covenants  :  that  of 
blood,  which  ended  in  His  blood-shedding,  that  of  water, 
which  was  to  last  till  He  comes  again. 

It  is  curious  that  Jewish  traditions,  as  old,  no  doubt,  as 
the  time  of  Christ,  said  that  Moses  smote  the  rock  twice  in 
the  wilderness,  and  that  from  it  flowed  first  blood,  and  then 
water.  This  rock,  as  S.  Paul  says,  was  the  figure  of  Christ, 
(i  Cor.  X.  4.) 

Moreover,  as  when  Adam  slept,  God  took  Eve  from  his 
side  and  presented  her  to  Adam,  so  now  the  Second  Adam 
sleeps  on  the  Cross,  and  His  side  is  opened,  and  from  it 
issue  water  and  blood  ;  water  by  which  man  is  regenerated 
and  admitted  into  Christ's  Church ;  blood,  the  eucharistic 
banquet  whereby  man's  fellowship  with  Christ  in  His  Church 
is  maintained. 

Thus  we  may  regard  these  two  streams  as  figuring  the  two 


Cf)c  Piercctf  ^itst.  25 


Sacraments,  whereby  the  life  of  the  Church  is  begun  and 
maintained. 

It  has  been  argued  that  the  death  of  Christ  on  the  Cross 
took  place  through  the  rupture  of  the  heart,  or  rather,  of 
the  division  between  the  two  cells,  a  phenomenon  which  is 
known  to  occur  through  excessive  agony  or  sorrow  of  mind. 

In  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  our  Lord  endured  mental 
anguish  so  intense  that  it  caused  the  sweat  of  blood,  which 
would  be  attended  with  violent  palpitations  of  the  heart. 
On  the  Cross  the  agony  was  renewed  and  intensified, 
accompanied  by  the  physical  sufferings  of  the  mode  of 
punishment.  This  combination  of  agony  would  induce 
such  palpitation,  that,  reaching  extreme  acuteness,  a  rupture 
would  ensue,  and  when  the  soldier's  spear  penetrated  the 
heart,  the  mingled  fluids  would  flow  forth  together.* 

"Out  of  the  heart,"  said  our  Blessed  Lord,  *' proceed  all 
evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries."  There  is  the  source  of 
all  evil.  By  the  piercing  of  His  heart  He  expiated  our  sins 
of  the  heart,  as  by  His  pierced  hands  and  feet  He  atoned  for 
our  sins  of  act,  and  by  His  thorn-crowned  head  He  made 
reconciliation  for  our  sinful  thoughts.  As  evil  springs  from 
the  heart  of  man,  so  from  the  heart  of  the  Son  of  Man 
flows   the  fountain  of  healing  for  the  cleansing  of  trans- 

*  Dr.  Stroud,  M.D.,  "Treatise  on  the  Physical  Cause  of  the  Death  of 
Christ"    London,  1847. 


26  Cbe  53 eats  a«^  d^t^xtvrtttitiix  at  3e5?u^. 

- 

gression.  As  in  the  heart  of  man  is  the  source  of  weakness, 
so  from  the  heart  of  the  Son  of  Man  issues  that  blood 
which  is  to  strengthen  us  against  temptation,  and  enable  us 
to  master  its  infirmity. 

The  streams  are  mingled.  In  vain  does  the  blood  of 
pardon  flow  unless  by  baptism  we  have  been  cleansed  and 
admitted  into  the  Church  ;  and  in  vain  are  we  baptized 
unless  we  go  on  to  the  participation  of  the  precious  blood 
which  nourishes  and  sustains  that  spiritual  Hfe  which  was 
initiated  in  us  by  the  water. 

"  Spring,  O  well !  thou  living  water, 

Spring !  let  evil  men  deride, 
Spring  abundant,  mingled  torrent 

From  the  Saviour's  side  ! 
Flow,  O  well !  O  Blood  and  Water, 

Streams  of  sacramental  grace, 
Purifying  past  transgression, 

Present  sin  efface. 

Flow,  O  well !  in  fonts  for  ever 

Is  the  crystal  water  stored  ; 
Flow,  O  well  !  on  countless  altars 

Is  the  purple  Blood  outpoured."  * 

*  Church  Songs,  No.  49.     Skeffington,  1884. 


IV. 

Ef)e  IBescent  from  ti)e  OTross. 


S.  Matt,  xxvii.  57,  58. 

"  When  the  even  was  come.,  there  came  a  rich  man  of  Arimathea,  natned 
Joseph,  who  also  himself  was  Jesus'  disciple  :  he  went  to  Pilate^  and  begged 
the  body  of  Jesus  T 

S.  Luke  gives  a  few  farther  particulars.  He  says  that 
Joseph  was  a  Councillor,  that  he  was  a  good  and  just  man, 
and  that  he  had  not  consented  to  the  counsel  and  deed  of 
those  who  had  condemned  and  delivered  up  Jesus  ;  that  he 
himself  waited  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  S.  Mark  adds 
that  he  went  boldly  into  the  presence  of  Pilate  and  craved 
the  body  of  Jesus.  "  And  Pilate  marvelled  if  He  were 
already  dead  :  and  calling  unto  him  the  Centurion,  he 
asked  him  whether  He  had  been  any  while  dead."  The 
words  of  S.  Mark  are  couched  in  a  figure  of  speech  which 
condenses  a  conversation  into  a  few  words.  Pilate  asked  if 
Jesus  were  yet  dead.  The  Centurion  answered  that  He 
was  so.  Then  Pilate  further  asked  whether  He  had  been 
dead  any  length  of  time.  When  quite  satisfied  he  gave 
consent  that  the  body  should  be  delivered  over  to  Joseph. 
We  cannot  say  for  certain,  but  it  seems  probable  that 


28  ^l)c  59rat]b  '^ntr  Ec^urrcttion  at  Sle^us^ 

^ y 

Nicodemus  and  Joseph  were  brothers,  and  the  sons  of 
Gorion.  We  know  something  of  these  two  men  from 
Jewish  sources.  Nicodemus  lived  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  and  was  reduced  from  great  wealth  to  extreme 
poverty.  A  poor  woman  was  seen  collecting  straw  from  a 
dung-heap  after  the  ruin  of  the  city,  that  therewith  she 
might  feed  her  cow,  and  on  being  asked  her  name,  she  said 
that  she  was  the  daughter  of  the  once  wealthy  Nicodemus. 
Nicodemus  was  not  the  original  name  of  this  man,  which 
was  Bonai,  and  he  is  spoken  of  by  Jewish  writers  as  a  dis- 
ciple of  Jesus.  He  received  the  name  of  Nicodemus  from 
a  miracle  wrought  by  his  prayers.  In  a  time  of  great 
drought  he  prayed,  and  rain  came  and  filled  the  tanks  of 
Jerusalem.  Joseph  Ben  Gorion  was  murdered  by  the 
zealots  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  during  the  siege. 

Joseph,  we  are  told  by  the  Evangelist,  was  a  Councillor, 
that  is,  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrim  ;  he  came  forth  doubtless 
to  his  garden,  which  was  close  to  the  scene  of  crucifixion. 
As  Nicodemus,  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  came  to  Jesus  by  night, 
so  did  Joseph,  his  brother,  steal  out  in  alarm  and  distress, 
and  hide  in  his  garden,  peering  over  the  wall,  or  through 
the  half  closed  door,  at  what  took  place  hard  by.  But  when 
the  sun  was  darkened,  and  the  rocks  were  rent,  full  con- 
viction took  hold  of  him,  and  instead  of  hiding,  he  came 
forth,  and  went  into  the  city,  and  asked  for  the  body  of 


Ef^t  Bt^ant  from  tlbe  CroiStf.  29 

Jesus.  The  Greek  word  employed  shows  us  that  Joseph 
was  outside,  and  that  he  went  into  the  town  to  make  his 
request. 

The  request  was  not  an  extraordinary  one.  The  Roman 
judges  were  accustomed  to  deliver  up  the  bodies  of  male- 
factors to  their  friends  and  relatives,  only  paricides  were 
denied  a  grave  among  their  kin.  It  was  not  till  later,  under 
Diocletian,  that  the  right  of  relatives  to  carry  off  and  bury 
the  dead  who  had  suffered  execution  was  further  limited, 
and  denied  in  cases  of  high  treason. 

This  it  is  which  lends  so  high  an  interest  to  the  Roman 
catacombs,  for  by  Roman  law  there  was  as  full  protection 
accorded  to  the  graves  of  Christians  as  to  heathen,  and 
no  more  interference  attempted  in  the  burial  of  those 
who  suffered  sentence  by  a  judge  than  in  the  case  of  the 
noblest  senator,  or  member  of  the  imperial  family.  It  was 
not  till  late,  that  this  liberty  was  restricted,  consequently  the 
earliest  Christian  tombs  and  catacombs  in  Rome  were 
executed  with  far  more  richness  and  freedom  than  those 
of  later  date.  * 

Joseph  plucked  up  courage  at  last,  and  went  to  ask  for 

*Quinctilvi.  9,  10,  21.  "  Cruces  succiduntur,  percussos  sepeliri  carni- 
fex  nonvetat."  Ulpian,  Dig.  xlviii.,  p.  24.  "Corpora  eorum  qui  capite 
damnantur,  cognatis  ipsorum  neganda  non  sunt.  —  Corpora  animad- 
versorum  quibuslibet  petentibus  ad  sepulturam  danda  sunt."  See  Kraus, 
"  Roma  Sotteranea,"  Bk.  i.  c.  3, 


30  Wf^t  mtRti  antr  ^t^mxtttian  of  ge^u^. 

_ 

the  body.  The  soldiers  were  about  to  remove  the  dead 
from  their  crosses,  probably  they  intended  to  saw  through 
the  crosses,  cast  them  down,  withdraw  the  nails,  and  fling 
the  dead  into  one  of  those  burial  places,  which  the  Jews  had 
for  malefactors.  There  were  two  of  these,  one  for  those  who 
were  executed  with  the  sword  or  were  hung  on  the  tree,  the 
other  for  those  who  were  stoned  to  death,  or  burnt.  The 
Sanhedrim  would  not  allow  those  who  had  suffered  these 
sentences  to  be  laid  in  the  tombs  of  their  fathers  till  their 
flesh  had  mouldered  away,  only  then  might  their  bones  be 
collected  and  laid  in  their  family  tombs.  Another  rule 
among  the  Jews  was  that  the  cross,  or  stone,  or  sword 
wherewith  a  criminal  had  been  put  to  death,  should  be 
buried  near  him,  but  whether  the  Roman  soldiers  would 
comply  with  this  rule  we  may  well  doubt;  however,  the 
Jews  who  sought  to  have  this  execution  regarded  as  the 
result  of  the  condemnation  of  their  council,  would  doubt- 
less see  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  precept.  The  story  of 
S.  Helena  having  discovered  the  cross  on  Calvary,  though 
lacking  all  contemporary  confirmation,  is  not  in  itself 
impossible  or  improbable. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  at  the  entreaty  of  Joseph,  and 
perhaps  bribed  by  him,  the  soldiers  did  not  touch  the 
cross  and  body  of  Jesus  after  that  His  side  had  been 
pierced,   though   they   set   to   work    to   throw  down    and 


TOt  IBfiScent  from  tt^t  Croj^i^.  31 

remove  for  burial  the  bodies  of  the  two  thieves.  Joseph 
had  obtained  what  he  asked,  and  he  hastily  **  brought  fine 
linen."  He  was  attended  by  Nicodemus,  who  "  brought 
a  mixture  of  myrrh  and  aloes,  about  a  hundred  pounds 
weight."  He  and  Nicodemus  returned  to  Calvary,  where 
in  the  meantime  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  Mary  Magda- 
lene, Mary  the  mother  of  James  and  Joses,  and  also  Salome, 
with  S.  John,  the  beloved  disciple^  kept  guard. 

Then  Joseph  took  the  body  down,  assisted,  doubtless,  by 
Nicodemus  and  those  of  the  Apostles  who  were  present. 
"  Then  took  they  the  body  of  Jesus,  and  wound  it  in  linen 
clothes  with  the  spices,  as  the  manner  of  the  Jews  is 
to  bury." 

The  Jews  were  wont  to  use  the  linen  strips  wherewith  the 
books  of  the  law  were  rolled  as  bands  for  wrapping  round 
the  bodies  of  their  dead.  It  was  thought  that  the  volumes 
of  the  law  gave  a  sanctity  to  these  wraps,  which  were 
eagerly  sought,  and  highly  esteemed  for  this  purpose.  But, 
of  course,  this  was  not  possible  for  all,  it  was  a  privilege 
reserved  for  the  few.  The  Jews  did  not  suffer  their  dead 
to  be  enveloped  in  silk,  or  any  embroidered  stuff*,  only  in 
white  linen.  The  linen  was  in  small  strips,  and  was  wrapped 
round  and  round  the  body,  and  the  spices  were  inserted 
between  the  wraps  and  the  body  or  in  the  folds  of  the  linen. 
At  the  same  time  perfumes  were  burnt;  and  we  are  told 


I 
that  at  the  funeral  of  GamaUel  seventy  pounds  of  spices 

were  thus  consumed. 

On  this  occasion  we  are  told  that  Nicodemus  brought  a 
mixture  of  myrrh  and  aloes  a  hundred  pounds  in  weight. 
There  is  some  difificulty  about  this,  as  the  amount  seems 
enormous,  and  it  has  been  argued  that  the  measure  meant 
is  only  an  eighth  of  a  pound  as  we  reckon  it,  so  that  the 
quantity  brought  by  Nicodemus  would  not  amount  to  more 
than  twelve  pounds,  and  this,  perhaps,  included  the  weight 
of  the  jar.  Probably  he  brought  an  unopened  vessel  of  the 
mixture  and  carried  it  to  Calvary  with  him,  and  there  broke 
it  open,  to  use  of  it  as  much  as  might  be  required,  or  could 
be  used  in  the  hurry  of  the  hasty  entombment. 

It  is  certainly  remarkable  that  Joseph  and  Nicodemus, 
the  two  most  timid,  as  it  would  seem,  of  Christ's  disciples, 
should  now  show  such  boldness.  One  was  His  disciple, 
**  secretly,  for  fear  of  the  Jews,"  and  the  other  was  he  who 
came  "  at  the  first,  to  Jesus  by  night."  As  they  had  been 
equal  in  the  feebleness  of  their  faith  during  the  life  of  their 
Lord,  so  are  they  equally  conspicuous  for  the  boldness  of 
their  faith  after  His  death. 

What  they  now  did  was,  indeed,  a  bold  thing.  It  was  a 
defiance  of  public  opinion,  it  was  the  running  the  risk  of 
expulsion  from  the  synagogue,  and  from  the  high  council. 
Although  the  entering  of  the  court  of  justice  carried  with  it 


Cf)e  ^t^ctnt  from  tljc  €va^^.  33 

defilement,  Joseph  went  boldly  before  Pilate.  He  made  a 
sacrifice  of  his  popularity  with  his  fellow  councillors,  and  all 
the  Pharisees  and  Scribes. 

The  example  of  these  two  men,  Joseph  and  Nicodemus, 

is  valuable.     It  shows  us  how  that  the  grace  of  God  can 

so  act  on  the  soul  that  a  man  will  shake  himself  free  from 

all  his  scruples,  conquer  his  natural  timidity,  brave  public 

opinion,  sacrifice  his  favour  with  the  people  for  the  sake 

of  Christ,  to  act  conscientiously.     There  are  turning  points 

in  all    lives,   critical    moments   when    everything   depends 

on  momentary  action.     Probably  this  was   such  a  critical 

moment  in  the  lives  of  these  two  timid  men.     Had  they 

hesitated,    made    excuses    for    themselves,    justified    their 

abstention  from  the  last   acts  of  mercy  on   the  plea  that 

they  were  not  relatives,  and  not  therefore  morally  bound 

to  demand  the  body  of  Christ,  then  their  after  career  would 

have  been  one   of  faUing  back  into  unbelief.      But  they 

acted  on  instant  conviction ;   they  rose  to  the  emergency. 

The  call  came  to  do  this  act  to  the  dead  body  of  Him 

whom  they  had  followed  timidly  in  life,  and  they  did  not 

turn  a  deaf  ear ;  they  acted  on  what  they  thought  to  be  right. 

And  lastly,  we  see  from  their  conduct  that  God's  grace  is 

sufficient  to  conquer  human  weakness.  When  they  had  the  will 

to  do  what  was  right,  the  grace  of  God  came  and  strengthened 

them  to  fulfil  that  duty  they  saw  they  were  called  to  perform. 


1 

V. 

^i)e  <3!?ntDmtmettt* 


S.  Luke  xxiii.  53. 

**  He  laid  it  in  a  sepulchre  that  was  hewn  in  stone^  wherein  never  man 
before  was  laid." 

Joseph  of  Arimathea  had  a  garden  close  to  Calvary,  and  in 
that  garden  a  new  tomb.  S.  John  mentions  the  garden, 
and  the  gate  leading  to  Calvary  was  called  the  Garden  Gate, 
because  the  road  that  passed  through  it  traversed  a  number 
of  gardens  belonging  to  the  wealthy  citizens  and  councillors. 
A  little  below  Calvary  was  the  tank  or  pool  of  Gihon,  from 
which  the  water  was  drawn  for  the  gardens.  Indeed, 
S.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  born  in  a.d.  315,  speaks  of  the 
remains  of  garden  enclosures  aboutf  the  Holy  Sepulchre  that 
were  observable  in  his  day.*  In  the  garden  of  Joseph  was 
a  rocky  face  of  the  hill,  in  which  he  had  had  a  new  grave 
made,  no  doubt  for  himself,  and  that  this  was  not  the  only 
one  in  that  neighbourhood  is  shewn  by  the  remains  of  old 
graves  scooped  out  of  the  rock,  still  observable  in  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 
The  graves  of  well-to-do  Jews  consisted  of  an  entrance 

*Catech.  xv.  5. 


Cf)t  (I5nt0mftmtnt.  35 


hall  scooped  out  of  the  rock,  in  which  was  a  stone  table  on 
which  the  embalming  of  the  corpse  might  be  carried  out. 
Then  came  a  round  hole,  closed  with  a  circular  stone  slab 
that  rolled,  hke  a  mill-stone,  and  within  was  the  tomb 
proper — a  chamber,  with  graves. 

The  body  of  Jesus  was  conveyed  from  the  Cross  to  the 
ante-chamber  of  the  tomb,  and  there  washed,  anointed,  and 
wrapped  round  with  the  spices.  According  to  Jewish  law 
no  woman  might  perform  these  last  rites  to  the  dead  body 
of  a  man,  they  must  be  performed  by  men.  Accordingly  we 
are  told  that  the  women  "  followed  after,"  that  "  Mary 
Magdalene  and  the  other  Mary  "  were  "  sitting  over  against 
the  sepulchre."  They  would  not  dare  to  approach  and 
assist,  their  place  was  at  a  distance.  The  office  of  women 
at  an  entombment  was  to  utter  lamentations  over  the 
dead. 

Tombs  about  to  be  used,  or  in  use,  were  whited  over  with 
lime,  partly  to  give  them  a  cheerful  and  glittering  appear- 
ance, partly  for  sanitary  purposes.  But  this  grave  was 
unwhitened,  because  it  was  used  hurriedly  without  any  pre- 
paration for  its  guest. 

Among  the  Romans  at  the  time  it  was  customary  to  burn 
their  dead,  and  lay  up  the  ashes  in  urns  in  chambers  erected 
to  receive  them.  But  in  earlier  times  this  was  not  the  case, 
and  some  of  the  noble  Roman  families  retained  the  earlier 


i ■ 

usage  of  burying  their  dead  in  sarcophagi,  instead  of  burning 
them.*  Among  the  Egyptians,  .the  dead  were  embalmed, 
wound  in  linen,  and  buried  in  subterranean  vaults ;  but  the 
Jewish  dead  were  not  embalmed  in  the  same  way.  The 
Egyptians  opened  their  dead,  removed  the  entrails,  and  filled 
the  stomach  with  spices.  The  Jews  merely  wrapped  unguents 
and  spices  about  the  bodies. 

If  we  accept  the  tradition  that  the  present  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  stands  over  the  real  grave  of  Jesus,  then  the 
distance  from  it  to  the  place  believed  to  have  been  that 
where  the  Cross  stood  is  no  feet.  The  original  tomb  was 
much  interfered  with  by  Constantine  when  he  built  the 
Church  over  it,  but  the  vault  of  living  rock  remained  till 
the  Calif  Hakim  destroyed  it  in  the  year  loio. 

Christ  was  laid  in  the  grave  at  a  distance  of  two  hours' 
walk  from  Bethlehem.  When  He  was  born,  it  was  in  a 
cave,  and  now  He  is  again  laid  in  a  cave.  When  He  was 
taken  to  Jerusalem  to  the  Temple,  Simeon,  a  member  of 
the  Council,  received  Him  in  his  arms,  and  now,  as  He 
is  laid  in  His  grave,  a  Councillor  bears  Him  in  his 
arms.  Simeon  had  prophesied  that  He  would  be  ''a 
sign  which  would  be  spoken  against,"  and  his  words  had 
been  fulfilled. 

"  And  Mary  Magdalene,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus, 

*As  in  the  tomb  of  the  Scipios,  and  in  that  of  the  Nasones. 


Cl)^  (f^ntomlimcnt.  37 


beheld  where  He  was  laid."  "  And  they  returned,  and 
prepared  spices  and  ointments  :  and  rested  the  Sabbath 
Day,  according  to  the  Commandment."  Christ  had  been 
nailed  to  the  Cross  at  noon,  and  He  had  died  at  four 
o'clock.  The  sun  must  have  been  now  rapidly  setting,  and 
after  its  golden  disc  had  touched  the  sea,  the  Sabbath,  the 
Paschal  Feast,  began,  and  no  work  might  be  done.  The 
last  offices  were  performed  to  Christ  in  haste ;  Joseph  and 
Nicodemus  did  what  they  could  in  the  short  time  they  had 
at  their  disposal,  but  they  intended  to  re-do  the  work  more 
thoroughly  when  the  Sabbath  was  over.  They  had  no 
expectation  of  a  resurrection ;  nor  had  the  women  who 
hastened  home  to  prepare  the  mixture  of  myrrh,  aloes,  and 
cassia,  for  the  ointment,  and  the  gums  that  were  to  be 
burnt  as  a  sweet  incense  on  the  Sunday.  In  the  Temple, 
after  the  sacrifice  of  the  bloody  offering,  came  the  oblation 
of  incense ;  and  so  now,  after  the  Sacrifice  on  Calvary  was 
offered,  came  from  the  faithful  men  and  women  the  oblation 
of  sweet  scents.  At  His  birth,  wise  men  had  offered  gold 
and  frankincense  and  myrrh.  There  is  now  no  present  of 
gold,  but  of  myrrh  and  of  frankincense. 

The  women  did  not  wring  their  hands,  and  utter  loud 
wailing,  tear  their  hair,  and  wound  their  faces,  as  is  customary 
in  the  East  at  a  funeral,  for  by  Jewish  law,  one  who  had 
died  as  a  criminal  might  not  thus  be  noisily  lamented.     "  If 


38  CJc  JBcatl)  axits  S^itsmxtttian  of  SejSu^. 

his  relatives  be  in  grief,"  it  was  commanded,  "let  them  keep 
their  grief  locked  up  in  the  heart."  When  Jairus'  daughter 
was  dead,  the  house  was  at  once  filled  with  minstrels  and 
professional  wailers.  It  was  not  so  now.  In  silence,  broken 
only  by  the  low,  controlled  sobs  of  the  women,  and  the 
hushed  whispers  of  the  men,  the  Lord  was  laid  in 
the  tomb. 

As  already  stated  in  the  previous  lecture,  it  was  a  rule 
among  the  Jews  to  bury  with  one  who  had  been  executed 
everything  which  had  been  used  in  putting  him  to  death. 
Consequently,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  two  councillors 
would  bring  with  them  the  nails  and  the  crown  of  thorns, 
and  lay  them  in  the  tomb  with  Jesus.  It  is  also  very  probable 
that  a  lamp  would  be  lighted  and  placed  in  the  tomb.  It 
was  now  the  hour  for  the  lighting  of  the  Sabbatical  lamp  in 
each  house  ;  Joseph  no  doubt  had  his  garden-house,  or  lodge, 
close  by.  It  is  remarkable  that  according  to  Jewish  accounts 
the  lamp  in  the  Temple  now  went  out.  Did  Joseph,  at 
this  hour  for  kindling  the  Sabbatical  lamp,  place  one 
in  the  grave  with  Christ  as  extinction  came  on  the 
Temple  light? 

In  a  garden  man  fell,  and  death  came  on  man.  In 
a  garden  Jesus  was  bowed  in  agony  in  prayer,  and  now 
in  a  garden  He  is  laid  dead.  Out  of  the  dust  man  was 
created,  and  now  in  the  dust  the  second  Adam  is  laid.     As 


aCflt  (BixtmnJinimt.  39 


Cain  was  moved  with  anger  and  envy  against  his  brother 
and  slew  him,  so  now  is  this  second  Abel  slain,  and  His 
blood  cries  from  the  ground  against  His  murderers.  In  life 
Christ  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head,  and  now  in  death 
He  is  given  a  borrowed  grave. 

I^et  us  turn  our  eyes  elsewhere,  and  we  shall  see  on  this 
same  day  another  hanging  on  a  tree,  and  falling  therefrom 
to  a  horrible  bursting  asunder  of  his  body.  This  is  Judas, 
the  traitor.  He,  filled  with  remorse,  but  not  repentance, 
restores  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  which  he  had  taken  as 
his  pay  for  betraying  his  Master,  casts  them  down  in  the 
Temple,  and  rushes  forth  to  hang  himself.  The  rope  or  the 
branch  gives  way,  and  the  dead  man,  the  suicide,  is  precipi- 
tated to  the  ground,  and,  no  doubt,  in  order  that  the  law 
may  be  observed,  some  who  have  discovered  him,  hastily, 
with  averted  faces,  cover  him  over  with  the  red  clay 
from  the  Potter's  field,  where  probably  this  act  of  suicide 
was  committed.  In  the  account  given  by  S.  Peter  in  the 
first  chapter  of  the  Acts,  Judas  had  bought  this  field  with 
the  money  he  had  received  for  the  betrayal  of  Christ,  and  it 
received  its  name  from  his  violent  death  in  it.  This  is 
apparently  at  variance  with  the  account  of  S.  Matthew, 
according  to  which  the  field  of  blood  was  purchased  by  the 
priests  with  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  after  they  had  been 
cast  down  by  Judas,  as  a  burial-place  for  strangers.    But  the 


40  Cljc  Bratb  aiilf  3arjSurrectian  al  gcs'iiiS. 

1 

discrepancy  is  easily  explained.  Judas  had  made  the  agree- 
ment to  take  the  field,  and  then  before  paying  the  sum  was 
filled  with  horror,  probably  at  the  signs,  the  darkness,  and 
the  earthquake,  and  he  went  to  the  priests  and  threw  down 
the  money,  then  in  his  despair  committed  suicide  in  the 
field  he  had  bought.  Afterwards  the  priests,  hearing  of  the 
contract,  concluded  it,  and  in  the  place  where  Judas  had  died, 
there  thenceforth  they  buried  strangers.  The  field  is  still 
pointed  out,  and  is  called  Hak  ed-damm  ;  it  lies  on  the  steep 
southern  face  of  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  near  its  eastern 
end,  more  than  half  way  up  the  side. 

The  evening  closes  in ;  the  golden  sun  has  dipped  into 
the  sea,  and  night  creeps  on.  Pilate  sat  down  to  his  supper 
ill  at  ease  with  himself;  the  priests  were  in  consternation 
at  the  rent  veil ;  the  soldiers  probably  alarmed  by  the  earth- 
quake. A  vague  alarm  and  unrest  filled  most  hearts ;  those 
whose  consciences  were  not  shaken  were  troubled  by  the 
signs  and  wonders.  And  pure,  calm,  brilliant,  the  Paschal 
moon  looks  down  on  Jerusalem,  and  on  two  graves — 
fresh  graves — that  in  Joseph's  garden,  and  that  in  the 
Potter's   field. 

"  Let  me  hew  Thee,  Lord,  a  shrine 
In  this  rocky  heart  of  mine, 
Where,  in  pure  embalmed  cell, 
None  but  Thee  may  ever  dwell. 


Cbc  (I^ntDmlbmatt.  41 


Myrrh  and  spices  will  I  bring, 

True  affection's  offering; 

Close  the  door  from  sight  and  sound 

Of  the  busy  world  around; 

And  in  patient  watch  remain 

Till  my  Lord  appear  again." 

Note  :  In  Jewish  graves,  out  of  the  inner  apartment,  or  tomb  proper, 
very  generally  open  small  oblong  holes  in  the  rock,  into  which  the 
bodies  were  thrust,  head  or  foot  foremost.  But  this  was  not  always 
the  case,  there  were  also  sometimes  graves  cut  out  lengthways  in  the 
side,  sometimes  sarcophagi.  The  former  (as  in  the  tombs  of  the 
kings  and  of  the  Judges)  were  for  the  economization  of  space.  That 
of  Christ  was  certainly  not  of  this  sort,  but  probably  the  body  was  not 
laid  in  the  final  bed,  but  in  the  midst  of  the  inner  chamber. 


1 

VI. 

€i)e  (great  3ai)ftati). 


S.  Luke  xxiii.  56. 

"  They  returned  .  .  .  and  rested  the  Sabbath  Day  according  to  the 
Commandment.^^ 

The  religions  of  the  heathen,  with  their  myths  and  sacred 
rites,  were  to  them  schoolmasters,  leading  them  to  Christ ; 
were  to  them,  in  an  inferior  manner,  what  the  Law  and 
Ceremonial  of  Moses  were  to  the  Jews. 

There  was  a  custom  in  Palestine,  and  in  Asia  Minor,  and 
Egypt,  which  was  a  distant  foreshadowing  of  the  events  of 
Good  Friday,  Easter  Eve,  and  Easter  Day.  The  story  was 
told  that  a  certain  god,  variously  called  Atys,  Thammuz, 
and  Osiris,  had  been  cruelly  and  treacherously  put  to  death  j 
and  in  the  early  spring  there  was  celebrated  the  day  of  the 
death  of  the  god.  Then  garden  graves  were  made  for  him 
and  planted  with  flowers.  On  the  second  day  the  women 
wailed,  to  testify  their  sympathy  with  his  mother,  who  sought 
him  with  tears,  and  on  the  third  day  they  shouted  for  joy 
because  he  had  been  found,  and  was  restored  to  life  again. 

And  now  He  to  Whom  these  rites  had  pointed,  and 
pointed   more   distinctly  than   did  any  rite  in  the   Jewish 


^c  (great  ^aiiiiatl).  43 


Church,  had  been  put  to  death,  was  laid  in  His  garden 
grave,  and  His  mother  and  the  holy  women  spent  the 
Sabbath  that  followed  in  weeping  because  of  His  loss. 
That  had  come  to  pass  in  reality  which  in  the  annual  rites 
of  Thammuz  and  Atys  was  but  a  fiction.  As  Christ  fulfilled 
and  took  away  the  old  Mosaic  sacrifices,  so  He  fulfilled 
these  heathen  typical  ceremonies,  and  transformed  them. 
Henceforth  throughout  the  world  there  was  to  be  celebrated 
the  death  day  of  the  Lord  of  Life,  and  after  that  was  to  be 
observed  a  day  of  rest,  in  which  He  reposed  in  the  grave, 
to  be  followed  with  a  day  of  rejoicing  at  His  victory  over  death. 

"  Now  the  next  day  that  followed  the  day  of  the  prepara- 
tion," says  S.  Matthew,  "  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees 
came  together  unto  Pilate,  saying,  Sir,  we  remember  that 
that  deceiver  said,  while  He  was  yet  alive.  After  three  days 
I  will  rise  again  :  Command  therefore  that  the  sepulchre  be 
made  sure  until  the  third  day,  lest  His  disciples  come  by 
night,  and  steal  Him  away,  and  say  unto  the  people,  He  is 
risen  from  the  dead  :  so  the  last  error  shall  be  worse  .than 
the  first.  Pilate  said  unto  them,  Ye  have  a  watch,  go  your 
way,  make  it  as  sure  as  ye  can.  So  they  went,  and  made 
the  sepulchre  sure,  sealing  the  stone,  and  setting  a  watch." 

S.  Matthew  speaks  of  this  Sabbath  Day,  the  Paschal 
Feast,  as  the  day  after  the  Preparation.  He  no  longer 
names  the  Paschal   Feast,  because  that   Paschal  Feast   is 


i 

abrogated.  The  True  Lamb  has  been  slain,  of  which  the 
lambs  slain  for  the  Passover  were  types. 

The  Jewish  day  began  at  sunset.  It  is  a  little  uncertain 
whether  S.  Matthew  is  employing  the  Jewish  or  the  Roman 
calculation  of  time,  and  so  it  cannot  be  said  with  certainty 
whether,  when  he  says  that  the  Jews  asked  to  have  the 
grave  watched,  they  went  on  Friday  evening  after  sundown, 
or  on  Saturday.  It  is  hardly  likely  that  they  would  make 
the  request  when  the  Pasclial  Sabbath  festival  had  begun  ; 
it  is  n)ost  likely  that  they  asked  for  the  guard  on  Saturday 
evening,  after  the  Sabbath  rest  was  over.  Then  the  shops 
would  open,  and  people  would  be  about  in  the  twilight. 
The  women  bought  spices,  and  mixed  the  ointments,  and 
the  priests  set  the  watch  and  sealed  the  stone. 

During  the  Saturday,  doubtless,  Pilate  drew  up  his  report 
of  what  had  taken  place,  to  send  to  the  Emperor.  This 
was  done  by  all  governors  of  provinces.  Indeed,  we  know 
that  from  Alexandria  a  daily  report  of  what  took  place  was 
forwarded  to  Rome.*  And  these  reports  were  preserved  in 
the  Roman  archives.  Eusebius,  the  Church  Historian, 
asserts  that  Pilate  actually  did  send  such  an  account  to  the 
Emperor  Tiberius,  and  so  does  Tertullian.     The  apologists 

*  These  daily  reports  were  called  viroiivr^nara  kuI  ttprj/jLipideSf  commen- 
tarii  rerum  quotidianarum.  Philo,  legat.  ad  Caium.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl. 
ii.  2 ;  TertuU.  Apol.  c.  21. 


d)c  (great  ^abbatt).  45 


had  no  scruple  in  appealing  to  the  testimony  of  these  Acts ; 
they  exhorted  the  Roman  emperors  to  refer  to  them,  and 
see  if  what  the  Christians  asserted  concerning  Christ  was 
not  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  Pilate.  The  archives  no 
doubt  perished  in  the  great  conflagration  of  Rome  under 
Nero.     At  all  events  they  have  not  come  down  to  us.* 

The  Jewish  Council  also,  we  are  told  by  Justin  Martyr, 
sent  letters  to  all  the  synagogues,  announcing  the  execution 
of  Christ. 

Apparently  the  Emperor  was  dissatisfied  with  what  he 
heard,  for  the  Jewish  Council  was  thenceforth  forbidden  to 
assemble.  We  learn  from  Jewish  authority  that  this  was  the 
case  about  forty  years  before  the  destruction  of  the  Temple, 
but  they  give  no  reason  for  it ;  and  we  may  without  much 
hesitation  believe  that  Pilate  reported  the  tumult  as 
occasioned  by  the  sentence  of  the  Sanhedrim,  whereupon 
the  Emperor  forbade  the  Sanhedrim  from  again  assembling 
and  pronouncing  sentence  in  spiritual  cases  even. 

The  watch  set  by  the  priests  was  the  same  Temple  guard 
which  was  employed  in  the  taking  of  Christ  in  Gethsemane. 
This  guard  was  allowed  to  the  Jews  to  protect  the  Temple 
from  profanation,  but  they  might  not  employ  it  outside 
the  Temple  precincts  without  permission  from  the  Roman 
governor ;  this  is  why  the  priests  approach  Pilate  with  their 
*  The  so-called  Acts  of  Pilate  are  apocryphal. 


46  Cbc  59catl)  Kixts  ^tsuntttiaix  of  Stj^ujS. 

\ 

request,  and  why  he   answers,  "  Ye   have   a  watch."     He 

gave  them  the  requisite  permission. 

The  soldiers  set  to  guard  the  grave  were  Roman  legion- 
aries. The  night  was  divided  into  watches,  each  soldier 
received  a  token  on  which  was  stamped  the  number  of  the 
watch  he  was  to  keep,  and  when  the  guard  was  changed, 
each  of  the  soldiers  relieved  delivered  up  the  token  to  the 
officer  in  charge.  Roman  guards  were  not  allowed  their 
shields,  lest  they  should  lean  on  them,  and  go  to  sleep. 
Doubtless  the  same  rule  held  with  the  Temple  guards.  It 
is  striking  that  now  the  watch  kept  on  the  Temple  should  be 
weakened,  in  order  that  part  of  it  might  be  sent  as  a  guard 
to  Him  Who  rests  in  the  grave,  and  has  converted  that  into' 
His  Temple.  There  were  four  night  watches,  and  a  division 
of  sixteen  men  was  given  charge  over  the  grave,  that  is  to 
say,  there  would  be  four  sentinels  at  a  time  on  duty. 

The  priests  sealed  the  stone.  That  is  to  say  they  affixed 
wax  to  the  go/al  or  rolling  circular  stone  that  closed  the 
opening  into  the  inner  chamber  of  the  grave,  drew  a  string 
through  it  and  sealed  again  the  stone  in  which  the  door  was 
hewn.  In  like  manner  Darius  (Dan.  vi.  17)  sealed  the  stone 
door  that  closed  the  lions'  den ;  and  we  learn  from  profane 
history  that,  in  like  manner,  did  Alexander  the  Great  seal 
the  grave  of  Cyrus.  To  the  present  day  in  the  Roman 
Catacombs  we  see  how  the  early  Christians,  in  their  desire 


Ebr  <§rcat  ^afiiiatl),  47 


in  all  points  to  make  their  burials  like  to  the  entombment 
of  Christ,  closed  the  doors  of  their  sepulchres  hewn  in  the 
rock,  with  a  stone,  and  sealed  them — sometimes  with  rings 
and  cameos,  sometimes  with  the  bottoms  of  gilded  glass 
cups  on  which  were  engraved  sacred  subjects  ;  and  as  Christ 
was  laid  with  spices,  so  did  they  place  little  vessels  in  their 
graves  that  contained  unguents  and  fragrant  oils."^ 

On  this  evening  the  first  fruits  were  brought  into  the 
Temple.  The  Sabbath  being  ended,  there  came  a  pro- 
cession from  the  vale  of  Kedron,  bearing  the  first  sheaf  of 
barley  to  the  Temple,  and  this  was  received  by  the  priests 
in  the  entrance  of  the  Temple,  and  carried  within.  As  the 
sheaf  was  presented  the  Levites  in  the  gates  sang  Psalm 
XXX. — "  I  will  magnify  Thee,  O  Lord,  for  Thou  hast  set  me 
up  :  and  not  made  my  foes  to  triumph  over  me ; "  to  which 
the  ascending  procession  sang  in  reply — "  I  profess  this  day 
unto  the  Lord  my  God,  that  I  am  come  unto  the  country 
which  the  Lord  sware  unto  our  fathers  for  to  give  us."  Then 
the  priest  took  the  first  fruits  and  laid  it  before  the  altar,  with 
the  song,  "A  Syrian  ready  to  perish  was  my  father."  (Deut. 
xxvi.  5-1 1.) 

With  this  the  harvest  season  was  solemnly  opened.     We 

*  These  are  the  so-called  ' '  vessels  with  the  blood  of  martyrs. "  It  is 
questionable  whether  martyr-blood  is  contained  in  any  of  them,  it  is 
certain  that  the  vast  majority  contain  nothing  of  the  sort,  but  balsam. 


48  Cb^  SBcatb  antf  2af£?urrecti0ii  nf  3e^u^. 

1 

shall  see  in  the  succeeding  lecture  what  this  signified,  and 
how  it  was  being  carried  out  in  a  marvellous  manner,  by 
Christ. 

So  the  great  Sabbath,  the  day  of  rest,  came  to  an  end. 
Again  the  sun  set,  and  again  the  Paschal  moon  poured  its 
flood  of  silver  light  over  the  holy  city,  over  Calvary  and 
the  Sepulchre.  On  the  preceding  night  there  had  been 
perfect  stillness  in  the  garden.  Twinkling  lights  had 
illumined  the  city,  for  all  households  were  keeping  the 
Passover."^  Now  it  was  different ;  four  soldiers  paced  in 
the  moonlight  before  the  grave,  and  there  was  a  hum  of 
voices  from  the  distant  city.  The  pool  of  Gihon  glittered 
in  the  moonlight  like  a  silver  plate,  and  the  fig-trees  cast 
dark  shadows  on  the  ground.  The  fireflies  hovered  about 
like  floating  stars.  In  the  broad  moonlight  the  nightingales 
in  the  garden  trees  sang,  and  the  air  was  fragrant  with  the 
scent  of  the  flowering  acacias. 

"  Calm  Thou  liest  in  the  grave, 
With  the  virgin  rock  around  ; 
All  is  hush'd  beneath  the  ground. 

*  I  have  assumed  throughout  that  S.  John's  chronology  is  correct,  and 
that  Jesus  died  at  the  same  time  that  the  Paschal  lambs  were  slain ;  that 
therefore  He  forestalled  the  Passover  by  a  night.  He  died  on  the  14th 
Nisan;  the  15th  was  the  Passover,  beginning  on  the  eve,  i.e.  after  sunset 
on  the  Friday. 


(ir^^  (Sreat  ^a^ibatb*  49 

All  is  dark,  except  the  flare 
From  the  lamp,  in  start  and  fall 
Staining,  with  an  ochreous  glare. 
The  napkin,  and  the  pall. 

Calm  Thou  liest  !   Thy  pale  hands 
Folded  o'er  Thy  pulseless  breast. 
Angels'  burning  lips  are  press'd 
On  each  crimson  print  of  nail, 
As  above  the  Mercy  Seat 
Angels'  pinions  form  a  veil 

About  Thy  Head  and  Feet. 

Calm  Thou  liest !   Thy  pure  brow 
Marked  with  bulrush  blow,  and  torn 
By  the  ragged  braid  of  thorn. 
Still  is  crowned.     Clotted  flakes 
Of  Thy  hair  hang  moisture  full. 
Thorns  shall  bloom,  when  morning  breaks, 
Thy  locks  be  white  as  wool. 

Calm  Thou  sleep ' st !     The  night  fleets  fast, 
The  hours  are  stealing  on  to  morn, 
The  veil  droops  in  the  Temple,  torn, 
The  moon  is  set,  more  deep  the  gloom, 
The  watch  is  changed  about  Thy  prison ; 
But  sudden !     Light  from  out  the  tomb — 
The  Lord  !    The  Lord  is  risen ! 


1 


VII. 


I  Peter  hi.  19. 
"He  went  and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in  p7'ison,^^ 

We  have  come  now  to  consider  that  very  mysterious  article 
of  our  Creed  which  we  profess  when  we  say  of  Jesus  that 
after  His  death  and  burial  "  He  descended  into  Hell."  It 
is  an  article  deserving  of  consideration,  but  it  is  one  which 
it  is  impossible  to  understand  aright  unless  we  first  investi- 
gate what  was  the  belief  of  the  Jews  at  the  time  of  our 
Lord's  death,  relative  to  the  Spirit  World.  And  this  is  the 
more  advisable,  as  in  our  Blessed  Lord's  teaching  He 
adopts  the  phraseology  of  His  contemporaries,  and  there- 
fore confirms  their  teaching,  at  least  in  its  broad  outlines. 
The  Jews  held  that  there  was  a  place  of  "  outer  darkness," 
which  they  called  Gehenna,  where  were  flames  and  the 
undying  worm,  where  were  "  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth." 
This  was  regarded  as  the  place  of  the  utterly  lost.  It  is  the 
same  as  our  Hell,  but  is  not  the  same  as  the  Hell  of  the 
Creed.  Above  Gehenna  was,  according  to  the  Jews,  another 
region  called  Sheol,  deep  and  dark,  and  a  prison.    Between 


Cib^  ^^iviU  in  \Bxi^an.  51 

Sheol  and  Paradise  flows  a  river  of  fire,  in  which  those  who 
have  contracted  defilement  during  life,  but  are  generally 
righteous,  pass,  and  are  cleansed  before  they  enter  Paradise. 
But  Paradise,  again,  is  only  the  outer  court  of  the  Heavenly 
Temple,  a  place  not  of  perfect  bliss,  but  of  expectation  of 
the  Messiah,  Who  alone  can  bring  the  souls  of  the  faithful 
into  perfect  felicity  in  the  immediate  presence  of  God. 

Such  were  the  divisions  of  the  World  of  Spirits  according 
to  Jewish  belief.  Now  our  Lord  named  all  three ;  He 
spoke  of  Gehenna  repeatedly ;  it  is  named  seven  times  by 
Him  in  S.  Matthew's  Gospel,  beside  other  references  to  it 
without  being  named,  but  as  the  place  of  outer  darkness, 
where  is  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Sheol,  or  Hades, 
is  twice  named  in  S.  Matthew's  Gospel,  and  in  S.  Luke's 
Dives  is  said  not  to  be  in  Gehenna,  but  in  Sheol,  and  we 
might  even  suppose  he  were  in  the  purifying  river  of  fire  of 
Jewish  belief  were  we  not  told  that  there  was  no  passing 
from  the  one  place  to  the  other. 

According  to  the  belief  of  the  Jews  the  faithful  dead 
were  in  earnest  expectation  of  the  Messiah,  Who  would 
release  them  and  place  them  in  the  full  glory  of  the  presence 
of  God.  So  they  interpret  the  wonderful  passage  of  Isaiah 
(xxxv.  8,  9),  "  He  will  swallow  up  death  in  victory;  and  the 
Lord  God  will  wipe  away  tears  from  off  all  faces ;  and  the 
rebuke  of  His  people  shall  He  take  away  from  off  all  the 


52               Cf)e  Btat^  Kiits  Wit^xtvrtctimi  af  St^vi^- 
^ 

earth.  And  it  shall  be  said  in  that  day,  Lo,  this  is  our  God ; 
we  have  waited  for  Him,  and  He  will  save  us :  this  is  the 
Lord ;  we  have  waited  for  Him,  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice 
in  His  salvation."  These  words  are  said  to  refer  to  the 
Messiah  releasing  the  spirits  of  the  just  from  their  place  of 
expectation.  Elsewhere  the  Jewish  Rabbis  say  that  the  Son 
of  David  would  pass  through  this  place  of  departed  spirits 
and  deliver  those  therein  ;  and  they  apply  to  this  the  words 
of  the  Prophet  Hosea — **  I  will  ransom  them  from  the 
power  of  the  grave  (of  Sheol) ;  I  will  redeem  them  from 
death  :  O  death,  I  will  be  thy  plague ;  O  Sheol,  I  will  be 
thy  destruction."  (xiii.  14.)  And  also  that  promise  in 
Zechariah,  "  By  the  blood  of  Thy  Covenant  I  have  sent 
forth  Thy  prisoners  out  of  the  pit  wherein  is  no  water. 
Turn  you  to  the  stronghold,  ye  prisoners  of  hope  :  even 
to-day  do  I  declare  that  I  will  render  double  unto  thee." 
(ix.  II,  12.) 

Now  if  we  consider  what  was  the  belief  in  our  Lord's 
time,  not  only  as  to  the  places  occupied  by  the  departed, 
but  also  as  to  the  dead  being  in  expectation  of  deliverance 
by  the  Messiah,  Who  is  the  Son  of  David,  and  Who  is  One 
with  Jehovah,*  then  I  think  it  is  not  hard  to  understand  the 

*  Echa  Rabbati,  f.  59.  "  What  is  the  Name  of  Messias  ?  Abba  Ben 
Cahana  repHed,  His  Name  is  Jehovah,  for  it  is  written,  His  Name  shall 
be  called,  The  Lord  our  Righteousness." 


Cf)c  ^^ivM  in  \Br i^an*  63 

event  of  Easter  Eve,  and  to  understand  the  allusions  to  it 
in  the  New  Testament  writers.  S.  Peter  says  that  Christ 
went  down  and  preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison,  in  Slieol ; 
and  then  he  mentions  those  that  were  disobedient  at  the 
time  of  the  flood.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  Jews 
expressly  denied  the  possibility  of  salvation  by  the  Messiah 
to  those  who  were  overwhelmed  by  the  flood,  as  well  as  to 
certain  others ;  *  now  S.  Peter  singles  out  this  group  of 
souls  to  which  the  Jews  denied  redemption,  to  say  that 
Christ  did  go  down  and  carry  pardon  and  give  release  even 
to  them.  His  words  may  thus  be  paraphrased.  "After 
Christ  suffered  in  the  flesh,  His  spirit  went  down  into  Sheol, 
and  preached  pardon  to  all  those  there,  even  to  those  to 
whom  you  deny  happiness — such  as  were  disobedient  in 
the  days  of  Noah." 

Now  we  can  see  that  the  prophecy,  "  The  people  which 
sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ;  and  to  them  which  sat  in 
the  region  and  shadow  of  death  light  is  sprung  up,"  had  a 
further  reference  than  to  those  in  the  borders  of  Zebulon 
and  Napthali ;  and  how  that  the  words  of  Zacharias  in  the 
Benedictus  may  have  had  a  special  reference  to  the  souls  in 
Sheol.  "  The  dayspring  from  on  high  hath  visited  us,  to 
give  light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of 

*Sanhed,  c.  ii,  3.    '*  Those  who  perished  in  the  Flood  shall  have  no  lot 
in  the  world  to  come." 


54  Cbt  Mtafi)  aittf  ^t^nvttttian  at  3ic«?uj^. 

J 

death,  to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way  of  peace,"  may 
have  referred  to  the  release  of  spirits  of  the  dead  as  well  as 
to  the  spiritual  enlightenment  of  the  living.  When  Christ 
declared  that  His  mission  was  *'  to  preach  deliverance  to 
the  captives,"  it  was  not  only  deliverance  in  this  life  to 
those  held  captive  of  Satan,  but  also  to  those  **  prisoners  of 
hope  "  who,  said  the  Prophet,  were  to  obtain  release  "  by  the 
blood  of  the  covenant." 

The  ancient  patriarch  Jacob,  when  dying,  in  his  prophetic 
song  exclaimed,  "  I  have  waited  for  Thy  salvation,  O  Lord." 
(Gen.  xlix.  i8.)  David,  in  a  moment  of  doubt,  asked, 
"  Shall  the  dead  rise  up  again  and  praise  Thee  ?  Shall  Thy 
lovingkindness  be  showed  in  the  grave  :  or  Thy  faithfulness 
in  destruction.?"  (Ps.  Ixxxviii.  lo,  ii.)  But  Isaiah  answered 
with  confidence,  "  Thy  dead  men  shall  live,  together  with 
my  dead  body  shall  they  arise.  Awake  and  sing,  ye  that 
dwell  in  the  dust " — only  they  must  be  content  for  awhile  to 
"  enter  into "  their  "  chambers "  hewn  in  the  rock,  and 
"hide"  themselves  "as  it  were  for  a  little  moment,  until 
the  indignation  be  overpast."     (xxvi.  20-1.) 

And  now  let  us  look  at  the  ceremony  that  was  taking 
place  on  the  Saturday  evening  in  Jerusalem.  A  first  sheaf 
of  barley  was  cut  in  the  vale  of  Kedron,  and  was  brought 
up  the  hill  by  the  greatest  among  the  people  ;  when  there 
was  a  king  among  them,  by  a  king,  on  his  shoulder,  in  a 


CIjc  ^^ixiti  in  |3njSan.  55 

basket.  It  was  received  by  the  priests  and  Levites  at  the 
Temple  gates,  with  songs  of  praise ;  and  the  bearer  said, 
"  A  Syrian  ready  to  perish  was  my  father,  and  he  went  down 
into  Egypt  and  sojourned  there  ;  and  the  Egyptians  evil 
entreated  us,  and  afflicted  us,  and  laid  upon  us  hard 
bondage,  and  when  we  cried  unto  the  Lord  God  of  our 
fathers,  the  Lord  heard  our  voice,  and  looked  on  our  afflic- 
tion, and  our  labour,  and  our  oppression  :  and  the  Lord 
brought  us  forth  out  of  Egypt  with  a  mighty  hand,  and  with 
an  outstretched  arm — and  He  hath  brought  us  into  this 
place,  and  hath  given  us  this  land,  even  a  land  that  floweth 
with  milk  and  honey." 

We  see  now  how  significant  this  was  of  the  great  deliver- 
ance being  wrought  by  Christ,  Who  went  down  into  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  thence  now  brought  up 
the  first  fruits — not  the  fine  wheat  of  the  new  Covenant,  the 
wheat  of  His  harvest  field  the  Church,  but  the  barley  of  the 
old  Covenant,  the  harvest  field  just  ripe  of  the  Jewish 
synagogue.  And  we  see  now  how  significantly  the  great 
going  forth  by  night  out  of  Egypt  was,  of  this  great  going 
forth  out  of  the  pain  of  bondage  in  Sheol,  after  the  slaying 
of  the  Paschal  lamb. 

Now,  also,  we  can  understand  what  the  Church  means 
when  she  gives  us  as  the  first  lesson  for  Easter  Eve  the 
prophecy  of  Zechariah,  and  for  the  first  lesson  on  Easter 


— i 

Day  the  12th  Chapter  of  Exodus,  and  we  can  see  the 
fulness  of  signification  of  these  words,  "  It  is  a  night  to  be 
much  observed  unto  the  Lord  for  bringing  the  people  out 
from  the  land  of  Egypt:  this  is  that  night  of  the  Lord 
to  be  observed  of  all  the  Children  of  Israel  in  their  genera- 
tion.'* We  see  how  that  that  first  deliverance  was  a  type  of 
the  still  mightier  deliverance  that  would  be  wrought  by  the 
Prophet  **  like  unto  Moses  ; "  and  how  that  the  commemora- 
tion of  that  deliverance  was  not  only  to  the  Jew  a  looking 
back  on  what  had  been  done  in  the  past,  but  a  yearly 
encouragement  to  look  forward  to  what  would  be  done  for 
him  by  the  Messiah  in  the  future. 

It  was  customary  in  the  Middle  Ages  on  Easter  Eve  for 
nobles  and  great  men  to  visit  the  hospitals  and  leper  houses 
and  the  orphanages,  and  to  give  alms;  and  in  Russia,  I 
believe,  to  the  present  day,  at  all  events,  till  recently,  on 
Easter  Eve  the  Czar  or  Grand  Duke  visits  the  prisons  and 
gives  to  the  prisoners  some  words  of  consolation  and  hopes 
of  release.  These  acts  are,  or  were,  commemorations  of 
the  descent  of  Christ  into  the  prison-house  of  Spirits. 

Are  not  we  also,  in  a  way,  here  on  this  earth,  "  prisoners 
of  hope?"  Prisoners,  indeed,  we  are;  tied  and  bound 
with  the  chains  of  sin  and  bad  habits;  in  darkness  also, 
away  from  the  light  of  God's  presence. 

But,  also,  prisoners  of  hope^  with  the  glorious  prospect 


Cl)e  §>pixM  ill  ^ti^aix.  57 

before  us  of  release  from  the  bondage  here  and  admission 
to  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  Children  of  God  in  the  land 
of  rest  and  peace.  And  as  the  old  patriarchs  were  set  free 
from  their  prison-house  by  the  Blood  of  the  Covenant,  so 
are  we.  Through  the  precious  Blood  of  Jesus  alone  we 
receive  remission  of  sin  and  release  from  the  slavery  of 
Satan.  And  as  the  Prophet  exhorted  the  Jews,  "  I'urn  unto 
your  stronghold,  ye  prisoners  of  hope,"  so  may  we  be 
addressed.  Christ  is  our  stronghold;  a  very  present  help 
in  time  of  trouble.  If  to  Him  we  turn  in  distress,  in 
temptation,  when  galled  with  our  chains ;  to  Him  Wlio 
preaches  deliverance  to  captives ;  to  Him,  our  stronghold ; 
then  He  will  release  us,  and  make  true  His  word  to  us  as  to 
the  old  patriarchs  who  expected  release — "  Even  to-day  will 
I  restore  double  unto  you." 


VIII. 

E\)t  Mesttvrection. 


S.  Matt,  xxviii.  2-4. 

*'^  Behold,  there  was  a  great  earthquake  :  for  the  angel  of  the  Loi'd  descended 
from  Heaven^  and  came  and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the  door,  and  sat 
upon  it.  His  countenance  was  like  lightnings  and  his  raiment  white  as 
snow  :  and  for  fear  of  hi?n  the  keepers  did  shake,  and  became  as  dead  men" 

Christ  is  risen  !  He  has  broken  the  gates  of  death  and 
snapped  the  bars  of  iron  in  sunder.  O  death,  where  is  thy 
sting  !     O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? 

Now  is  sorrow  ended  and  joy  come.  Heaviness  has 
endured  for  a  night,  now,  in  the  morning,  cometh  rejoicing. 
Christ  is  risen,  and  as  He  rises  *'  many  bodies  of  the  Saints 
which  slept "  arise  also,  and  appear  in  the  holy  city. 

There  had  been  an  earthquake  when  His  soul  left  the 
body,  there  is  an  earthquake  as  it  returns  and  re-animates  it. 
Fear  fell  on  the  Jews  at  the  first  earthquake,  when  the  graves 
were  opened,  and  fear  doubtless  fell  on  them  now  on  Easter 
morning  as  forth  from  the  graves  issue  those  who  had  fallen 
into  dust  and  appear  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem.  Indeed, 
such  an  impression  did  this  resurrection  of  the  dead  Saints 
leave  on    men's  minds  that   S.   Paul   had   to  combat  the 


Cibe  l^t^uvvtdian*  59 


doctrine  founded  on  it  by  Hymenseus  and  Philetus  that  the 
Resurrection  was  passed  already.     (2  Tim.  ii.  18.) 

Christ  is  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept,  the  first  to  rise, 
and  He  raises  with  Him  some  of  the  dead  in  pledge  of  a 
future  general  resurrection  harvest.  "  God  hath  raised 
Him  up,  having  loosed  the  pains  of  death  :  because  it  was 
not  possible  that  He  should  be  holden  of  it.  .  .  .  There- 
fore did  my  heart  rejoice,"  said  David,  "and  my  tongue  was 
glad ;  moreover  also  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope."  (Acts  ii. 
24,  26.)  Henceforth  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in 
the  Lord."  (Rev.  xiv.  13.)  The  doctrine  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion, that  as  Christ  was  raised,  so  also  will  all  those  that 
sleep  in  Christ  be  raised,  was  the  cardinal  point  of  the 
preaching  of  the  Apostles.  "  If  Christ  be  not  risen,"  said 
S.  Paul,  "  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also 
vain.  If  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised  :  and 
if  Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain  ;  ye  are  yet  in 
your  sins." 

What  said  the  heathen  ? 

"  Suns  may  set  and  rise  again, 
Light  by  us  is  sought  in  vain, 
When  we  enter  death's  domain. 
Then  we  pass  to  endless  night, 
Hope  for  e'er  has  taken  flight, 
Never  dead  returned  to  light." — (Catullus. J 


60  Cbc  SBcatft  mxts  dUt^uvvtttian  at  Bt^xi^* 

1 

Pliny  in  his  Natural  History  says  that  the  expectation  of 
resurrection  is  a  folly ;  and  when  S.  Paul  preached  the 
Resurrection  in  Athens,  men  mocked.  In  former  times 
men  had  some  belief  in  the  continuance  of  life  after  death, 
and  perhaps  some  dim  fluttering  hope  of  a  resurrection ; 
but  in  our  Lord's  time  all  trust  in  a  future  had  died  away, 
and  even  among  the  Jews  the  whole  sect  of  the  Sadducees 
denied  that  there  was  any  resurrection.  This  was  not  so 
among  the  Pharisees.  They  looked  for  a  restoration  of  all 
things,  and  that  through  the  Messiah.'' 

"  Mary  Magdalene,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James,  and 
Salome,  had  brought  sweet  spices,  that  they  might  come  and 
anoint  Him.  And  very  early  in  the  mornmg  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  they  came  unto  the  sepulchre  at  the  rising  of  the 
sun."  (S.  Mark  xvi.  i,  2.)  S.  Matthew  says  they  started 
"as  it  began  to  dawn  towards  the  first  day  of  the  week." 
S.  Luke  says  "very  early  in  the  morning."  S.  John  also 
uses  the  same  expression.  S.  Luke  does  not  mention  Salome, 
and  S.  John  does  not  mention  Mary  the  mother  of  James. 

♦Sohar  in  Gen.  f.  85.  "When  the  Messiah  shall  have  risen,  then 
shall  Jacob  enter  on  the  possession  of  earthly  and  heavenly  goods." 
In  Exod.  f.  23.  "Those  who  went  out  of  Egypt  with  Moses  shall  rise 
again  in  their  bodies  as  witnesses."  Midrash  Mishle,  f.  53.  "Why  is 
Messiah  called  Jinon?  (Ps.  Ixxii.  17.)  Because  He  will  raise  up  from 
the  dust  all  that  sleep  in  it."  Jalkut  Simoni,  f.  56.  "Our  Rabbis  teach 
that  at  the  coming  of  Messiah,  in  the  month  Nisan,  our  forefathers  shall 
rise  and  exclaim,  O  Messiah !    Thou  Lord,  our  Righteousness." 


Cl)^  ^t^urrtttian.  61 


It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  not  one  of  the  Evangelists 
describes  to  us  the  manner  in  which  Christ  rose,  but  they 
tell  us  only  of  the  evidences  that  the  grave  had  been 
deserted.  All  of  them  record  the  event,  and  give  us  every 
assurance  that  as  He  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate  so  did 
He  also  rise  the  third  day  from  the  dead.  They  state  the 
fact,  but  give  no  account  of  it.  Christ  had  risen  amidst 
the  darkness  of  the  night  without  breaking  the  seals  or 
removing  the  stone.  It  was  not  till  after  He  had  risen  that 
the  angel  descended  and  rolled  away  the  stone  in  order 
that  soldiers  keeping  watch  and  disciples  alike  might  see 
that  the  grave  was  empty. 

The  angel  came  down  from  Heaven  in  splendour,  and  the 
stone  was  removed  from  the  entrance  of  the  grave.  The 
keepers  did  shake  and  became  as  dead  men,  and  fled  into 
the  city,  and  told  the  priests  what  had  taken  place.  These 
they  found  in  the  Temple  engaged  on  grinding  the  new  corn 
brought  in  the  night  before,  and  making  of  it  a  cake  with 
oil,  that  it  might  be  offered  before  the  Lord,  after  the  new 
sheaf  had  first  been  lifted  up  and  waved  before  the  Lord  in 
the  Temple.  Then  "  when  they  were  assembled,  with  the 
elders,  and  had  taken  counsel,  they  gave  large  money  unto 
the  soldiers,  saying.  Say  ye.  His  disciples  came  by  night, 
and  stole  Him  away  while  we  slept.  And  if  this  come  to 
the  governor's  ears,  we  will  persuade  him,  and  secure  you. 


62  Cftc  JBratb  antf  B^^urrtctiaii  of  3t^u^* 

I 

So  they  took  the  money,  and  did  as  they  were  taught." 

S.  Matthew  adds  that  at  the  time  when  he  wrote,  "  This 
saying  is  commonly  reported  among  the  Jews  until  this 
day."  And  later  we  have  the  evidence  of  Justin  Martyr,  of 
Tertullian  and  of  Eusebius,  that  this  belief  prevailed  among 
the  Jews.  Still  later  we  have  the  same  falsehood  repeated 
in  the  profane  Toledoth  Jeshu,  a  life  of  Christ  in  circula- 
tion among  the  Jews,  composed  some  time  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  which  embodies  their  traditions  concerning  Christ. 
In  it  is  related  that  Judas  stole  the  body,  diverted  a  stream 
that  flowed  through  his  garden,  buried  the  body  of  Christ 
in  the  watercourse,  and  turned  the  river  back  into  its  bed 
again. 

"  The  angel  said  to  the  women,"  when  they  arrived 
before  the  sepulchre,  and  with  much  amazement  saw  it 
open,  and  the  angel  seated  on  the  stone,  "  Fear  not  ye :  for 
I  know  that  ye  seek  Jesus,  which  was  crucified.  He  is  not 
here :  for  He  is  risen,  as  He  said.  Come,  see  the  place 
where  the  Lord  lay.  And  go  quickly,  and  tell  His  disciples 
that  He  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  and  behold,  He  goeth 
before  you  into  Galilee ;  there  shall  ye  see  Him  :  lo,  I  have 
told  you." 

The  women  knew  nothing  of  a  guard  being  set  over  the 
grave  ;  probably  one  reason  why  the  angel  appeared  and 
drove  away  the  watch  before  they  arrived  was  to  protect 


(TJe  S^t^mrtttian.  63 


them  from  insult  and  mockery  from  these  rude  soldiers; 
and  is  a  token  to  us  how  the  Lord  thought  of  and  cared 
for  these  faithful  women,  in  the  midst  of  the  glory  of  His 
Resurrection.  The  lightning  blaze  of  the  angel's  counte- 
nance was  to  dismay  and  send  the  soldiers  in  panic  from  the 
tomb,  but  then  its  splendour  faded,  and  the  women  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  dazzled  by  it. 

"And  they  departed  quickly  from  the  sepulchre,  with 
fear  and  great  joy;  and  did  run  to  bring  His  disciples 
word.  And  as  they  went  to  tell  His  disciples,  behold  Jesus 
met  them,  saying,  All  hail.  And  they  came  and  held  Him 
by  the  feet,  and  worshipped  Him.  Then  said  Jesus  unto 
them,  Be  not  afraid  :  go  tell  My  brethren  that  they  go  into 
Galilee,  and  there  shall  they  see  Me.'* 

The  women  are  four — Mary  the  mother  of  James,  Joanna 
the  wife  of  Chuza,  Salome,  and  the  Magdalene,  and  the  last 
apparently  outran  the  others,  or  they  divided  in  search  of  the 
Apostles,  and  she  found  Simon  Peter  and  S.  John,  and 
*'  saith  unto  them.  They  have  taken  away  the  Lord  out  of 
the  sepulchre,  and  we  know  not  where  they  have  laid  Him." 

There  is  some  difficulty  in  harmonising  the  several 
accounts,  but  the  simplest  is  this.  The  four  women  came 
to  the  sepulchre,  and  when  Magdalene  saw  that  it  was 
open,  she  at  once  ran  back  to  the  town — leaving  the  other 
three  at  the  sepulchre,  who  then  saw  the  vision  of  angels, 


64  Kl}t  JBeatl)  anlr  ^t^ntvtttian  ai  B^^^i^* 

and  as  they  also  returned  to  the  city  were  met  by  their 
risen  Lord.  Mary  Magdalene  had  neither  seen  the  angels 
nor  the  risen  Saviour,  for  she  says  nothing  about  either. 
Then  Peter  and  John  run  to  the  sepulchre,  and  she  also 
follows,  and  stands  weeping  without,  when  the  Lord  appears 
also  to  her.  If  we  take  events  to  have  happened  thus,  the 
difficulties  disappear. 

**  Peter  therefore  went  forth,  and  that  other  disciple,  and 
came  to  the  sepulchre.  So  they  ran  both  together :  and 
the  other  disciple  did  outrun  Peter,  and  came  first  to  the 
sepulchre.  And  he,  stooping  down  and  looking  in,  saw  the 
linen  clothes  lying;  yet  went  he  not  in.  Then  cometh 
Simon  Peter  following  him,  and  went  into  the  sepulchre, 
and  seeth  the  linen  clothes  lie,  and  the  napkin  that  was 
about  His  head  not  lying  with  the  linen  clothes,  but  wrapped 
together  in  a  place  by  itself  Then  went  in  also  that  other 
disciple,  which  came  first  to  the  sepulchre,  and  he  saw,  and 
believed.  For  as  yet  they  knew  not  the  Scripture,  that  He 
must  rise  again  from  the  dead." 

S.  John  was  the  youngest  of  the  Apostles,  and  S.  Peter 
the  oldest,  which  will  explain  how  he  outran  Peter.  He 
stood  in  the  vestibule  of  the  tomb,  the  outer  chamber, 
where  was  the  stone  table  for  embalming.  He  stooped  and 
looked  through  the  round  opening  into  the  tomb  itself,  an 
opening  which  was  only  large  enough  for  a  man  to  pass 


Ef)t  d^cSxtrttttmx*  65 


through  stooping  or  crawling.  But  S.  Peter  crept  through, 
and  was  then  followed  by  S.  John,  and  both  convinced 
themselves  that  the  grave  was  deserted. 

We  must  not  be  surprised  at  their  not  understanding  our 
Lord's  words  teaching  His  Resurrection,  for  they  gave  them 
a  different  signification  to  what  He  meant  them  to  convey. 
According  to  the  belief  of  their  times,  after  death  the  soul 
remained  near  the  body,  and  hovered  to  and  fro  by  the  head 
till  the  third  day,  on  which,  convinced  that  return  was 
impossible,  it  rose  to  the  spirit  realm.  Now  when  the 
disciples  heard  Jesue  speak  about  His  rising  again  the  third 
day,  they  thought  He  meant  that  after  His  death,  on  the 
third  day  His  soul  would  mount  to  Paradise ;  that  He  was 
only  confirming  the  prevalent  belief,  or  superstition.  They 
could  not  imagine  that  He  meant  that  the  soul  would 
re-animate  the  body,  and  raise  it. 

Not  without  deep  significance  did  our  Blessed  Lord  at 
His  Resurrection  leave  behind  Him  the  linen  clothes  and 
the  napkin  that  was  about  His  head,  not  lying  with  the  linen 
clothes,  but  wrapped  together  in  a  place  by  itself.  It  was 
intended  as  a  lesson  of  order  and  neatness.  In  the  moment 
of  Resurrection,  of  victory  over  death,  He  did  not  forget 
that  orderhness  is  an  obligation,  and  to  shew  this  to  be  a 
duty — an  important  duty  of  Christianity,  He  made  His  grave 
neat  before  He  left  it.     That  was  the  sermon  that  the  grave 

£ 


Cl)^  JBraft  antr  StlriSitrrrctton  tif  ^tsus* 


preached—the  first  lesson  of  Easter—- that  slatternliness  is 
inconsistent  with  Christianity. 

Christ  is  risen  !  The  first  fruits  of  them  that  sleep.  In 
the  Temple  this  day  the  priest  announces  that  the  Harvest 
has  begun,  and  he  waves  the  offering  of  the  first  fruits  before 
God.  Christ  is  risen  !  He,  our  Great  High  Priest,  presents 
before  the  Father  the  first  sheaf  of  the  ancient  dead  who 
fell  asleep  in  faith.  And  see !  how  ever  since  the  harvest 
has  been  going  on.  How  the  ears  have  fallen  in  the  fields 
of  the  world  ;  but  though  fallen  yet  they  will  be  gathered 
in  order,  sheaf  by  sheaf,  by  Christ,  and  brought  into  the 
garner  of  the  Lord — the  temple  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  Heavens. 


IX. 

Ci)e  appeaiance  to  Ittarg  IBlagtralene, 


S.  John  xx.  ii. 
''And  Mary  stood  without  the  sepulchre,  weeping^ 

There  is,  as  already  said,  some  difficulty  at  first  sight  in 
reconciling  the  accounts  of  the  events  of  Easter  morning  as 
given  by  the  four  Evangelists,  but  the  sequence  seems  to  be 
this — The  women,  Mary  Magdalene,  Mary  the  mother  of 
James,  Joanna  (S.  Luke  xxiv.  lo),  and  Salome  (S.  Mark 
xxi.  i),  came  early  to  the  sepulchre.  Whether  they  all  came 
together  is  not  certain ;  if  Mary  Magdalene  came  separately 
from  the  others,  much  of  the  difficulty  disappears. 

According  to  S.  John's  account  Mary  Magdalene,  who 
alone  is  mentioned  by  him,  came  early  to  the  sepulchre,  and 
finding  the  stone  rolled  away,  ran  and  told  Simon  Peter, 
who  along  with  S.  John  hastened  to  the  tomb,  and  finding 
it  empty  returned  to  their  lodgings  in  great  perplexity. 
Mary  Magdalene,  however,  remained  outside  the  sepulchre 
weeping :  "  and  as  she  wept,  she  stooped  down,  and  looked 
into  the  sepulchre,  and  seeth  two  angels  in  white,  sitting,  the 
one  at  the  head,  and  the  other  at  the  feet,  where  the  body 


68  El)t  JBeatb  anlr  ^^t^nrvtttimi  at  S^^uiS. 

1 

of  Jesus  had  lain.  And  they  say  unto  her,  'Woman,  why 
weepest  thou  ?  She  saith  unto  them,  Because  they  have 
taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
Him."     After  which  Jesus  Himself  appeared  to  her. 

S.  Matthew  and  S.  Mark  say  that  the  women  all  saw  an 
angel,  who  bade  them  go  and  tell  the  disciples,  and  as 
they  went  Jesus  appeared  to  them.  Here  also  there  is  a 
difference,  for  S.  Mark  says  that  our  Lord  appeared  first 
of  all  to  Mary  Magdalene,  and  makes  no  mention  of  the 
appearance  to  the  other  women. 

S.  Luke's  account  again  differs.  The  women,  Magdalene 
among  them,  came  "  very  early  "  to  the  sepulchre,  they  see 
two  angels,  and  after  that  S.  Peter  hastens  to  the  tomb;  and 
departs  wondering. 

It  is  most  likely  that  the  division  of  the  parties,  Mary 
Magdalene  coming  separately  from  the  others,  may  explain, 
to  some  extent,  the  apparent  difficulties. 

As  in  the  Tabernacle  two  cherubim  spread  their  wings 
over  the  mercy-seat  of  the  Ark,  so  now  do  two  angels  in 
white  occupy  the  head  and  foot  of  the  place  where  the  body 
of  Jesus  had  rested.  They  are  there  though  Jesus  has 
risen,  and  their  presence  seems  to  teach  us  that  sanctity 
attaches  to  holy  places,  that,  for  instance,  a  Church  in  which 
the  presence  of  Jesus  has  been,  an  Altar  on  which  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  of  His  body  and  blood  has  reposed,  are 


hallowed,  not  only  at  the  moment  of  His  presence,  but 
remain  consecrated,  and  are  not  to  be  treated  with 
irreverence. 

Mary  had  remained  without,  that  is,  in  the  porch  of  the 
grave,  in  a  rocky  vestibule,  in  which,  as  already  explained, 
the  embalming  of  corpses  took  place.  John  and  Peter  had 
retired ;  when  they  had  gone,  she  timidly,  weeping,  entered 
this  vestibule,  but  still  stood  "  without,"  that  is,  outside  the 
sepulchre  proper.  Then  she  stooped  down,  and  looked  into 
the  inner  chamber  through  the  low,  round  hole,  about  three 
feet  high,  and  then  saw  the  angels.  The  ordinary  pictures 
of  the  Resurrection  confuse  our  ideas,  or  rather  mislead 
them,  and  create  for  us  difficulties  which  disappear  when  we 
come  to  consider  the  Gospel  story  according  to  what  we 
know  were  the  usages  of  the  time. 

"And  when"  Mary  had  said  that  she  knew  not  where  the 
Lord  had  been  laid,  "she  turned  herself  back,  and  saw  Jesus 
standing,  and  knew  not  that  it  was  Jesus." 

Objection  has  been  made  to  this,  that  Mary  should  not 
have  recognized  Him,  at  a  time  when  there  must  have  been 
full  morning  light.  But  this  objection  ceases  to  have  any 
force  when  we  realize  where  Mary  was,  and  how  Jesus 
appeared  to  her.  She  was  within  the  vestibule,  opening 
into  the  garden  by  a  door  not  closed  at  all.  She  was  close 
to  the  inner,  circular  opening,  that  admitted  into  the  tomb 


J 

itself.  She  heard  a  step  behind,  and  turned  sharply  round, 
and  saw  a  figure  occupying  the  door  and  obscuring  the  light 
and  the  sight  of  the  garden.  The  fact  of  His  standing 
there  cut  off  the  light,  and  so  His  face  was  dark  against 
the  brilliant  morning  sunshine  which  streamed  in  behind. 
Under  the  circumstances  she  could  not  distinguish  His 
features,  she  could  see  only  a  dark  figure  of  a  man  set  in  a 
golden  light ;  and  when  He  said  unto  her  "  Woman,  why 
weepest  thou  ?  whom  seekest  thou  ?"  it  was  natural  that  she 
should  suppose  Him  to  be  the  gardener.  Very  probably, 
under  the  hollow  arched  vault,  His  voice  sounded  differently 
from  usual  when  He  spoke  under  the  open  sky,  or  she  may 
have  been  so  bewildered  by  the  vision  of  angels,  and  by  her 
surprise  at  seeing  someone  entering  the  tomb  behind  her, 
that  she  did  not  recognize  the  tones  of  the  voice  she  loved. 

"  She,  supposing  Him  to  be  the  gardener,  saith  unto 
Him,  Sir,  if  Thou  have  borne  Him  hence,  tell  me  where 
Thou  hast  laid  Him,  and  I  will  take  Him  away." 

It  would  seem  that  Joseph  of  Arimathea  had  a  gardener's 
lodge  connected  with  the  garden,  in  which  dwelt  the  keeper 
of  the  garden.  Mary  may  have  known  this,  and  thought 
that  this  man  was  on  his  rounds,  and  had  come  in  to  see 
why  she  trespassed.  In  passing,  we  may  observe  that  it  was 
by  no  means  unusual  for  tombs  to  be  in  gardens.  We  read 
of  Manasseh  that  he  ''  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  was  buried 


in  the  garden  of  his  own  house,  in  the  garden  of  Uzza." 
(2  Kings  xxi.  18.) 

Observe  the  tender  love,  the  fervour  of  piety  in  Mary, 
that  impels  her  to  offer  to  do  more  than  she  is  able.  She 
asks  where  Christ  is  laid,  and  will  herself  open  His  grave, 
and  carry  His  dead  body  in  her  arms  away.  Could  she 
have  done  this  ?  Most  certainly  not ;  but  in  her  love  and 
distress  she  resolves  to  try  to  do  it.  Surely  a  lesson  for  us, 
who  are  always  shrinking  from  duties,  doubting  our  own 
powers,  or  rather  excusing  ourselves  from  attempting  things 
by  the  plea  of  weakness.  But  when  Mary  thought  that 
profane  hands  had  possession  of  the  Sacred  Body,  that  it  was 
subjected  to  unworthy  treatment,  she  made  no  account  of 
her  weak  woman's  arms,  of  her  Httle  strength,  of  her  being 
alone,  she  thought  only  of  the  dishonour  done  to  her  Lord. 
"  Tell  me  where  Thou  hast  laid  Him,  and  I  will  take  Him 
away.''*  So,  in  the  Song  of  Solomon,  the  Bride  cries,  "  I 
sought  him  whom  my  soul  loveth,  I  sought  him,  but  found 
him  not.  I  will  rise  now,  and  go  about  the  city ;  in  the 
streets,  and  in  the  broad  ways,  I  will  seek  him  whom  my 
soul  loveth :  I  sought  him,  but  I  found  him  not." 

There  perhaps  ensued  a  pause  after  the  question  to  Mary. 
Her  eyes  were  full  of  tears — she  had  been  weeping.  Her 
heart  was  beating  with  alarm  and  distress.  In  that  lull  she 
wiped  her  eyes,  and  looked  up  intently  at  Him  Who  stood 


I 

in  the  doorway,  with  the  golden  morning  light  behind  Him — 
there  was  something  in  the  outline  of  His  form,  something 
in  His  posture,  something  in  the  attitude  of  His  uplifted 
hands,  that  made  her  heart  stand  still  with  a  sudden 
expectation  and  awe.  "  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Mary.  She 
turned  herself,  and  saith  unto  Him,  Rabboni;  which  is  to 
say,  Master."  Either,  after  having  spoken  first,  she  had 
reverted  to  her  former  position,  and  now  turned  again,  which 
is  unlikely,  or  this  turning  to  Jesus,  as  He  addresses  her  by 
name,  is  rather  that  of  working  herself  up  to  Him  on  her 
knees.  She  had  been  kneeling,  and  had  crouched  to  look 
into  the  inner  vault ;  then  she  turned  right  round  to  speak 
to  Him  Whom  she  thought  was  the  gardener,  and  now, 
probably,  by  this  turning  to  Him  is  meant  that  she  struggled 
to  reach  Him  on  her  knees,  that  she  might  clasp  His  feet. 

"  Mary  !"  He  said  to  her.  He  Who  telleth  the  number 
of  the  stars,  and  calleth  them  all  by  their  names,  knows 
also  the  names  of  those  who  are  stars  in  the  firmament  of 
His  Church.  Mary  Magdalene  was  but  a  fallen  star,  who  by 
grace  had  been  raised,  and  purified  by  tears,  and  rekindled 
by  great  love,  had  been  set  again  in  the  place  whence  she 
had  lapsed.  With  a  look  Jesus  had  recalled  Peter  to  a 
consciousness  of  himself,  and  by  a  word  now  He  brings  full 
conviction  to  Mary  that  it  is  He  Himself  Who  stands  before 
her.  She,  in  her  ecstacy  of  joy,  would  have  clasped  His  knees. 


^|)c  Appearance  tn  iWarp  jWagtfalene.  73 

as  Abigail  kneeling  before  David,  as  the  Shunammite  before 
Elisha.  But — "Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Touch  Me  not;  for 
I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  My  Father  ;  but  go  to  My  brethren, 
and  say  unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  My  Father,  and  your 
Father,  and  to  My  God,  and  your  God." 

That  "  touch  Me  not "  was  a  check  administered  to  too 
exuberant  and  irreverent  piety,  and  is  a  lesson  not  to  be 
neglected  at  any  time.  The  angels  stood  at  the  head  and 
foot  of  the  spot  where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain,  and  shew 
us  that  places  are  hallowed,  and  to  be  treated  with  reverence, 
where  Christ  has  been,  and  now  Jesus  shews  that  He  Him- 
self is  to  be  reverently  approached,  and  that  the  tenderest 
love,  the  most  ardent  devotion,  must  never  transcend  the 
limits  of  proper  respect. 

When  God  appeared  on  Sinai,  barriers  were  set  round  the 
mount  lest  the  Israelites  should  approach  too  near,  and  with 
light  heart,  and  there  are  barriers  about  all  the  manifesta- 
tions of  God  that  must  not  be  cast  down  or  overleaped. 

This  is  too  often  forgotten  in  these  days,  both  by  preachers 
in  their  addresses,  and  by  worshippers  in  their  prayers  and 
hymns.  The  gross  familiar  style  and  the  mawkish  senti- 
mental style  are  alike  unsuitable.  *'  If,"  said  an  Indian  one 
day  to  a  Wesleyan  missionary,  '*  I  were  to  speak  to  my 
earthly  prince  in  the  way  you  address  your  God,  he  would 
have  me  expelled  his  presence." 


74  Cf)e  JBcatfi  autf  Ee^urr^cttnu  at  3c£{u^. 

1 

In  the  Song  of  Songs  the  Bride  says,  **  It  was  but  a  little 
that  I  passed  from  "  the  watchmen,  "  but  I  found  him  whom 
my  soul  loveth  :  I  held  him,  and  would  not  let  him  go." 

But  the  Magdalene  was  not  to  touch  Jesus,  for  *'  I  am  not 
yet  ascended  to  My  Father."  He  implies  that  after  that 
event,  she — and  so  others  as  well — might  touch  Him,  might 
lay  hold  of  Him,  and  "  not  let  Him  go."  And,  indeed,  so 
is  it.  When  Christ  had  ascended  into  Heaven,  then  began 
the  Sacramental  approach,  and  the  Sacramental  laying  hold 
of  Him.  That  which  was  not  permissible  to  Mary,  when 
Christ  stood  before  her  visibly,  is  permissible  now  that  He 
is  seen  by  faith,  and  the  hands  may  now  be  extended  to 
clasp  Him,  when  He  comes  to  us  veiled  in  Sacramental 
forms. 


Ci)e  iHag  to  ($mmaus. 


S.  Mark  xvi.  12. 
^^  After  that  He  appeared  in  another  form    unto  two  of  them,  as  they 
walked,  and  went  into  the  country. ^^ 

What  S.  Mark  gives  briefly,  that  is  more  fully  told  by 
S.  Luke,  who  says,  "And  behold,  two  of  them  went  that 
same  day  to  a  village  called  Emmaus,  which  was  from 
Jerusalem  about  threescore  furlongs." 

This  Emmaus  was  the  Mozah  mentioned  in  Joshua 
(xviii.  25),*  of  which  the  Talmud  says,  *'  Below  Jerusalem 
is  a  little  place  called  Mosa,  whither  men  went  to  cut  withies 
for  the  feast  of  the  Tabernacles."  It  was  afterwards  called 
Colonieh,  because  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  a  Roman 
colony  of  soldiers  was  settled  there.t  The  name  Mosa 
means  Pass,  Emmosa — the  Pass,  and  it  is  on  the  main  road 
to  the  sea  at  Jaffa.  The  only  difficulty  attending  this 
identification  is  the  distance,  which  is  forty-five  furlongs 
instead  of  sixty ;  and  the  tradition,  which  is  not  very  well 
authenticated  as  old,  of  its  being   at   a  place  now  called 

*  Cf.  I  Chron.  viii.  36,  37 ;  ix.  42. 
t  Joseph.  Bell.  Jud.  vii.  6,  6.  "Emmaus,  which  is  distant  from  Jerusalem 
60  stadia." 


76  (T^c  IBratl)  aulf  ^t^mvtttion  of  ^t^xt^. 

1 

Kubebe,  which  is  actually  situated  at  the  right  distance 
from  the  city.  As,  however,  the  Emmaus  of  Josephus  is 
undoubtedly  Colonieh,  and  he  gives  the  same  distance 
as  S.  Luke,  we  may  conclude  that  the  distance  was 
reckoned  somewhat  roughly.  Emmaus  lies  in  a  pleasant 
valley,  and  is  imagined  to  have  been  the  scene  of  the 
conflict  between  David  and  Goliath.  The  two  disciples 
who  lived  at  Emmaus  were  Cleopas  and  another,  unnamed. 
Cleopas  was  not  the  Cleopas,  or  Alphaeus,  of  the  Gospel, 
but  was  probably  a  Greek  Jew,  and  his  full  name  was 
Cleopater. 

As  the  two  walked  home  from  the  festival  of  the  Passover 
they  had  attended  in  Jerusalem,  *'  they  talked  together  of 
all  those  things  which  had  happened." 

It  was  towards  evening,  and  the  distance  a  walk  of  about 
an  hour  and  a  half.  They  went  westward,  along  the  road 
that  twists  about  as  it  descends  into  the  valley,  and  the 
evening  sun  shone  in  their  faces. 

"And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  while  they  communed 
together  and  reasoned,  Jesus  Himself  drew  near,  and  went 
with  them.  But  their  eyes  were  holden,  that  they  should 
not  know  Him." 

The  way  was  narrow.  It  had  traversed  a  very  bare, 
mountainous,  rocky  soil,  and  now  the  fertile  valley,  with  its 
olives  and  willows  by  the  watercourse,  opened  before  them. 


They  walked  in  the  narrow  way,  one  behind  the  other,  or 
perhaps  side  by  side,  and  they  heard  a  Stranger  pacing 
behind  them.  They  did  not  turn  to  look  at  Him  ;  the 
evening  sun  shone  in  their  eyes,  and  dazzled  them. 

**  And  He  said  unto  them,  What  manner  of  communica- 
tions are  these  that  ye  have  one  with  another,  as  ye  walk, 
and  are  sad  ?  And  the  one  of  them,  whose  name  was 
Cleopas,  answering  said  unto  Him,  Art  thou  only  a  stranger 
in  Jerusalem,  and  hast  not  known  the  things  which  are 
come  to  pass  there  in  these  days  ?  And  He  said  unto  them. 
What  things  ?  And  they  said  unto  Him,  Concerning  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  which  was  a  prophet  mighty  in  deed  and  word 
before  God  and  all  the  people." 

The  two  disciples  supposed  that  Jesus  was  one  of  the 
proselytes,  or  a  foreign  Jew  who  had  come  to  the  feast,  and 
was  like  them  returning.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  feast, 
the  roads  were  full  of  people  leaving  ;  but  as  Cleopas  and 
the  other  disciple  lived  at  Emmaus,  they  had  started  on 
their  walk  home  at  a  later  time  of  day  than  those  who 
were  going  further,  so  that  probably  at  this  time  the  road 
was  not  full  of  travellers. 

Christ  walked  either  just  behind  the  two  disciples  or  at 
their  side,  where  the  turf  becomes  covered  with  marigolds 
and  chrysanthemums.  He  listened  as  they  told  Him  how 
that  He  they  had  trusted  would  have  redeemed  Israel  had 


78  Ct)e  JBtatl)  antf  Mrgurr^cti0n  of  3r^ujS» 

j 
been  crucified,  and  how  "certain  women  also. of  our  com- 
pany made  us  astonished,  which  were  early  at  the  sepulchre; 
and  when  they  found  not  His  body,  they  came,  saying  that 
they  had  also  seen  a  vision  of  angels,  which  said  that  He 
was  alive." 

Then  Jesus  said  to  them,  "  O  fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to 
believe  all  that  the  Prophets  have  spoken !  Ought  not 
Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  His 
glory  ?  And  beginning  at  Moses,  and  all  the  Prophets,  He 
expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  con- 
cerning Himself." 

He  began  from  where  Moses  tells  of  the  prophecy  that 
the  Seed  of  the  Woman  should  crush  the  Serpent's  head, 
which  would  also  bite  the  heel  of  the  Son  of  Man.  He 
shewed  how  that  the  Prophet  spoken  of  by  Moses  like  unto 
him,  had  indeed  been  raised  up.  He  shewed  how  that 
David  had  described  the  sufferings  of  the  Messiah,  and  the 
Prophets  His  birth,  His  mission,  and  His  death  and 
resurrection. 

**  And  they  drew  nigh  unto  the  village  whither  they  went: 
and  He  made  as  though  He  would  have  gone  further." 
They  had  reached  the  bridge  that  crosses  the  torrent  in  the 
Wady  Hanina,  and  He  made  as  though  about  to  pursue  His 
way  through  the  deep  cleft  road  to  Arimathea,  but  there  is  at 
this  point  a  side  path  leading  right  to  the  village  of  Emmaus, 


Cibe  OT[ag  to  emmau^.  79 

which  lies  on  a  height.  Here  it  was,  as  the  two  turned  out 
of  the  high  way,  that  they  saw  their  mysterious  companion 
take  some  steps  forward  along  the  main  road,  westwards. 
Then — "they  constrained  Him,  saying,  Abide  with  us:  for 
it  is  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  far  spent.  And  He  went 
in  to  tarry  with  them." 

Our  Lord  "made  as  though  He  would  go  further,"  indeed 
He  took  some  steps  in  the  course  along  the  main  road,  and 
unless  the  two  disciples  had  urged  Him  to  tarry  with  them, 
He  would  have  gone  on.  We  see  in  this  how  opportunities 
arise  and  must  be  seized — how  in  spiritual  as  in  temporal 
matters  the  secret  of  success  is  found  in  readiness  to  lay 
hold  of  an  opportunity.  The  hesitating  man,  the  man  who 
takes  a  long  time  to  make  up  his  mind,  very  often  misses 
chances. 

The  two  disciples  acted  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment, 
or  the  voice  of  conscience  when  it  spoke,  and  were  honoured 
with  being  permitted  to  extend  hospitality  to  the  Lord  of 
Life.  We  see  how  man's  free  will  plays  a  great  part  in  the 
mystery  of  salvation.  Christ  accompanies  man  on  his 
journey  through  life,  but  Christ  will  not  take  up  His  abode 
with  man,  and  reveal  Himself  wholly  to  him,  unless  he,  by 
an  exercise  of  free  will,  "constrains"  Him  to  abide  with 
him.  God  often  seems  to  us  to  make  as  though  He  were 
departing,  or  leaving  us  to  ourselves,  or  even  as  if  He  had 


deserted  us,  when  all  the  time  He  is  at  our  side,  only 
waiting  to  be  entreated  to  enter  in  and  take  up  His  abode 
in  us.  To  the  Children  of  Israel  of  old  it  seemed  that  God 
had  abandoned  them  when  Pharaoh  increased  the  burden 
of  their  tasks,  and  made  their  lives  heavy  with  hard  bond- 
age ;  yet  then  He  was  near  to  them,  and  was  ready  to  draw 
them  from  the  midst  of  the  house  of  bondage.  Let  us,  for 
our  encouragement,  remember  that,  when  faith  seems  to 
fade,  and  when  we  most  feel  our  loneliness,  then  is  the  time 
when  we  must  use  an  exercise  of  free  will,  and  by  our 
urgency  "  constrain  "  Him  to  *'  abide  with  us." 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  He  sat  at  meat  with  them.  He 
took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and  brake,  and  gave  to  them. 
And  their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew  Him." 

This  supper  at  Emmaus  has  been  invoked  as  an  authority 
for  departure  from  primitive  Christian  practice  on  two 
opposed  sides.  In  the  first  place,  those  who  advocate 
Evening  Communions  assume  that  this  supper  at  Emmaus 
was  a  repetition  by  Christ  of  the  Institution  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist  in  the  upper  chamber  on  the  eve  of  His  death. 
In  the  second  place  it  is  quoted  triumphantly  by  Roman 
Catholics,  on  the  same  assumption,  as  evidence  that  Com- 
munion in  one  kind  was  of  Christ's  institution.  Now, 
we  have  no  right  whatever  to  say  that  Christ  on  this  occa- 
sion repeated  the  Eucharistic  Sacrament.     He  sat  down  to 


Cib^  SSaan  to  (i^mmauiS.  81 

the  ordinary  evening  supper  with  the  two  disciples,  and  used 
the  ordinary  benediction  of  the  bread  that  every  Rabbi  or 
master  of  a  house  employed.  The  two  disciples  had  not 
been  in  the  upper  room  at  the  Institution  of  the  Eucharist. 
It  is  not  likely  they  had  heard  about  it  from  the  Eleven.  It 
was  not  the  peculiarity  of  the  benediction  that  struck  them. 
No — He  took  the  bread  in  His  hands,  raised  it,  and  brake 
and  blessed — and  then  they  saw  the  wounds  in  the  hands. 
A  change  had  come  over  Christ  by  His  death  and 
Resurrection.  We  know  how  that  all  great  events,  great 
sorrows,  great  joys  do  alter  men  ;  and  those  exceedingly 
great  sorrows  and  agonies  of  Good  Friday,  and  the 
marvellous  Resurrection  had  wrought  a  mighty  visible 
exterior  change  in  Christ,  so  that  the  two,  though  they 
saw  Him,  did  not  recognize  Him,  yet  their  hearts  burned 
within  them  ;  they  were  sure  they  had  seen  Him,  heard 
the  voice  before,  but  could  not  be  certain  it  was  He 
Himself,  till  He  took  the  unleavened  wafer  and  raised 
it  over  the  table  and  brake — and  then  they  saw  the  nail 
prints  in  the  hands — and  at  once,  with  a  flash,  perfect 
recognition  came.  They  had  invited  Him  to  the  ordinary 
meal,  and  He  assumed  the  place  of  authority  as  the  Maker 
and  Giver  of  bread,  as  the  Rabbi  or  teacher,  and  they  saw 
that  He  was  one  with  power  and  authority.  He  shewed 
Himself  to  be — not  the  guest,  but  the  head  of  the  family; 

F 


82  Ci)e  JBcitb  autf  Eri^urrcction  at  3^riSu^. 

1 

and  whilst  eating  with  them  declared  Himself  as  tlie  Giver 
of  all  good  things.  These  two  may  have  been  in  the 
wilderness  when  He  broke  bread  and  miraculously  fed  a 
multitude,  and  He  may  have,  in  some  way,  recalled  to  their 
remembrance  His  action  on  that  occasion,  and  this,  joined 
to  the  sight  of  His  pierced  hands,  convinced  them  Who  He 
was ;  but  most  certainly  they  had  not  been  in  the  upper 
chamber  at  the  Institution  of  the  Eucharist. 

''And  He  vanished  out  of  their  sight.  And  they  said 
one  to  another,  Did  not  our  heart  burn  within  us,  while 
He  talked  with  us  by  the  way,  and  while  He  opened  to  us 
the  Scriptures  ?  " 

Christ  had  found  the  disciples  sorrowing ;  He  left  them 
full  of  joy.  And  so  has  it  been  ever  since.  Into  the  midst 
of  our  griefs,  in  the  time  of  desolation,  in  the  hour  of  need, 
Christ  comes  to  us,  associates  Himself  with  us,  and  then 
turns  our  heaviness  into  joy — that  joy  which,  like  His  peace, 
passeth  not  away,  and  which  no  man  can  take  from  us. 

*'  And  they  rose  up  the  same  hour,  and  returned  to 
Jerusalem,  and  found  the  Eleven  gathered  together,  and 
them  that  were  with  them,  saying,  The  Lord  is  risen  indeed, 
and  hath  appeared  to  Simon.  And  they  told  what  things 
were  done  in  the  way,  and  how  He  was  known  of  them  in 
breaking  of  bread." 

The  two  men  act  at  once  on  what  they  know.     We  see  in 


€ht  OT^ay  ta  emmauiS.  83 

this  the  energy  and  promptitude  of  their  characters  ;  not 
only  so,  but  also  they  show  us  how,  in  Christ's  religion,  we 
are  members  one  of  another,  and  how  we  must  communicate 
to  others  of  what  we  have  received.  If  one  member  suffer, 
all  the  members  suffer  with  it ;  if  one  member  be  honoured, 
all  the  members  rejoice  with  it — for  we  are  all,  though 
many  members,  one  body  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Note  :  Captain  Conder  has  suggested  a  new  site  as  the  Emmaus  of  the 
Gospel,  at  Khamasa,  about  three  and  a  half  miles  S.E.  of  Atab  and 
sixty  furlongs  from  Jerusalem.  I  cannot  see  that  the  grounds  are 
satisfactory  for  such  an  identification. 

If  Emmaus  be  properly  Hammath,  this  implies  the  presence  of  hot 
springs  ;  but  if  from  Ammosa,  or  Mosa,  with  the  article  before  it,  it 
means  the  Pass,  and  applies  well  to  Colonia,  where  is  no  warm  spring. 
Josephus  distinctly  tells  us  that  a  colony  of  Roman  veterans  was 
settled  at  Emmaus,  which  thenceforth  changed  its  name  to  Colonia, 
and  there  is  Colonieh  to  this  day. 

It  is  true  that  Josephus  says,  "  Now  Emmaus,  if  it  be  interpreted, 
may  be  rendered  '  a  warm  bath'  useful  for  healing,"  but  the  Gemara 
(f.  45,  i)  says,  *'  Mosa  is  Colonieh.  Why  is  it  called  Mosa?  Because 
it  passed  free  from  tribute  to  the  Emperor."  The  explanation  is 
after  rabbinic  taste,  and  wrong.  At  Colonieh  there  is  an  abundant 
spring,  but  it  is  not  warm,  at  all  events  now.  Colonieh  is  not  sixty 
stadia  from  Jerusalem,  or  between  seven  and  eight  miles,  but  con- 
siderably less.  The  road,  however,  is  so  mountainous  and  winding, 
that  it  may  have  been  roughly  called  more  than  it  really  was.  More- 
over, the  return  of  two  disciples  to  Jerusalem,  with  the  expectation  of 
still  finding  the  Apostles  assembled,  implies  a  shorter  distance  than  a 
walk  of  over  two  hours. 


^ppentrix. 


ON    THE    SITE   OF   THE    HOLY    SEPULCHRE. 

Captain  Conder  has  attempted  an  entirely  new  identi- 
fication of  the  site  of  Calvary  and  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre 
from  that  which  is  traditional,  and  this  has  been  accepted 
by  Dr.  Cunningham  Geikie  in  his  "  The  Holy  Land  and 
the  Bible/'  and  by  Sir  Wm.  Dawson  in  his  "Egypt  and 
Syria,"  as  well  as  by  others.  Captain  Conder  takes  a 
rounded  hill,  with  two  hollows  in  the  precipitous  face, 
which  may  in  certain  lights  be  taken  to  have  a  remote 
likeness  to  a  skull,  as  the  Calvary,  or  Golgotha,  of  the 
Gospel.  This  hill  is  situated  outside  the  Damascus  Gate 
of  Jerusalem,  on  the  North  side,  and  is  near  the  tomb 
of  Jeremiah.  Dr.  Geikie  quietly  rejects  the  accepted  site 
as  being  impossible,  because  it  is  within  the  walls  of 
the  city,  whereas  Calvary  was  without.  Now,  it  is  pretty 
evident  that  the  accepted  site  was  originally  outside  the 
walls ;  the  still  apparent  traces  of  old  Jewish  tombs  in 
the  rock  prove  this,  for  the  sepulchres  were  all  anciently 
"without  the  gate." 

Moreover,  we  know  that  Bezetha,  the  new  town,  was 
formed  to  the  North  and  West,  taking  in  within  its  circum- 
ference a  large  part  of  the  suburbs,  and  the  new  wall 
including  this  was  carried  in  a  sweep  from  North  to  West 
by  Agrippa  I.  after  the  death  of  our  Lord,  and  this  would 


^^ptxxXii}:*  85 


take  in  the  site  of  Calvary,  which  was  before  outside  the 
Garden  Gate.  That  tradition  should  retain  the  recollection 
of  the  true  site  of  Calvary  and  the  Holy  Grave  can  hardly 
be  doubted,  as  the  Church  remained  at  Jerusalem  from  our 
Lord's  time  ;  moreover,  a  temple  dedicated  to  Venus  was 
erected  by  Hadrian  on  the  site,  to  desecrate  the  spot  sacred 
to  Christians,  just  as  a  temple  was  erected  with  the  same 
dedication  at  Bethlehem  to  desecrate  the  Cave  of  the 
Nativity.  These  temples  at  least  stamped  the  spots  as 
those  which  in  the  second  century — that  is,  about  a.d.  120, 
or  less  than  a  century  after  our  Lord's  Death,  were 
venerated  as  the  scenes  of  his  Birth  and  Death. 

Eusebius,  born  264,  mentions  the  excavations  made  on 
the  traditional  site  of  Calvary.  It  is  almost  inconceivable 
that  the  early  Church  should  not  have  remembered  the  true 
site  of  the  Death  and  Resurrection,  and  should  have  com- 
pletely ignored  that  which  Captain  Conder  is  pleased  to 
suggest,  and  which  has  little  to  recommend  it  except  a 
fanciful  resemblance  to  a  skull,  only  to  be  discovered  in  a 
certain  light,  and  only  to  be  traced  by  a  lively  imagination. 


The  End. 


■■;^^i^ 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


LOAN  DEPT. 


»RR( 


This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or"—  '^i/]j\i  ^^\hf 
on  the  date  to  which  renewed.  r^      *- 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


.H 


REC'D  LD 


MAR  181960 


LD  21A-50m-4,'59 
^A 1724s10)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


re  72366 


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C^^K5#ife#i«'gC- 


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